


The Sovereign of the Dragons

by mochiiihus



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alpha Uchiha Sasuke, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - Historical, Biting, Blood and Violence, Bottom Uzumaki Naruto, Cheating, Dom/sub, Drama, F/M, M/M, Mating Bites, Mating Bond, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mpreg, Multi, Omega Uzumaki Naruto, Omega Verse, Possessive Behavior, Pregnant Naruto, Pregnant Sex, Romance, Scenting, Underage Sex, Wedding Night
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-18
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-02-03 16:23:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 156,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12751890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mochiiihus/pseuds/mochiiihus
Summary: Young omega Naruto Uzumaki is to be married to the future king of the Uchiha clan. His destiny as Itachi Uchiha's bride is set in stone until one day fate intervenes and makes him fall in love with someone else. Follow Naruto as he tries to navigate his tumultuous love life all while rising to power to become one of the strongest sovereigns the Uchiha clan has ever seen.





	1. Beloved Betrothed

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so excited/nervous to post my story here on A03! I posted it on FF too but I'm anxious how its going to do on here...I hope you guys like it. I was inspired by the ancient culture of Japan. I love the outfits, the elaborate kimonos and customs. "The North" is basically a modified version of ancient Japan while the "The West" is basically like the tropics. I'm a huge fan of omegaverse, I love it so much...maybe too much (;-;) 
> 
> Just a warning: Chapters will be on the longer side also the male omegas/submissives in this story are feminized (they are still male.)
> 
> Italics in this fanfic symbolize the language of Whirlpool. 
> 
> Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I don't own Naruto. (If I did it wouldn't have had that horrible ending.)...(-.-)

The day Itachi Uchiha was born the bells in the town high tower rang for twelve hours straight. The bells ringing announced the birth of the sacred king of the future, the sole heir to the Uchiha clan.

The Uchiha clan was a prestigious clan in Fire Country. They were considered to be one of the most feared and most powerful clans. They were known for their visual powers and ability to breathe fire, these abilities earned them the nickname the dragons of the north. It was said that an Uchiha didn't have to lay a single finger on you to end your life; with a single look they could kill you. They were the epitome of nobility and everyone wanted to be a part of their powerful clan. But it wasn't that easy. The customs in Fire Country were set in stone. A person could only be a part of the clan they were born into. This was to keep the bloodlines of each clan as pure as possible. The only way for someone to become part of another clan was by an approved marriage by the emperor himself and if the intended was from a completely different country, then both the emperors of the two different countries had to approve the union. This was how arranged marriages became such a popular practice. When a child with exceptional beauty and power was born their parents immediately put in a bid to the emperor to seek permission to marry their child into the Uchiha clan. More than half of these bids usually were declined but a very small percentage of them were occasionally passed. It was like wining the lottery; a child married into the Uchiha clan would be set for life. They would spend the rest of their days protected by some of the strongest warriors in the world and in addition to that they would also give birth to Uchiha babies, making their offspring superior in every single way.

Itachi Uchiha had been born into this twisted world, the heir to one of the most powerful clans to ever exist. He was the future ruler of the Uchiha clan and everyone wanted a piece of him, no matter the price they had to pay. But all of their plotting, bidding, and scamming was utterly useless-for there was only one person Itachi Uchiha would marry-and he was all the way on the other side of world-not even born yet-just a twinkling spec in his fathers eye.

 

_Fifteen years later_

 

Sasuke walked through the crowded street village with his head held high. He was an Uchiha and Uchiha’s always walked with their shoulders pulled back and their heads held high. It was to show confidence is what his father had told him. Even though Sasuke was only nine, he walked with all the grace and pride of his father. With his big brother at his side, Sasuke felt invincible, like there was nothing anyone could say or do to him that would bother, he was untouchable.

“Chi-chi?” Sasuke called his elder brother by the nickname he had appointed him ever since he had been able to talk,

“What is it?” The older Uchiha asked gently.

“I heard father would be returning later on today, do you want to come with me to welcome him?” Sasuke asked his brother excitedly. His brother made everything fun, even mundane things like welcoming their father home.

“I’m sorry Sasuke but I have a lesson with Rembu-san that I can’t miss, and after that I promised Shisui that I’d accompany him on a hunt to find a silver kunai he dropped on a mission last week.”

“You’re always busy!” Sasuke pouted. He hated when his brother didn’t put him first. He wanted to be Itachi’s number one priority at all times. “Cancel on them and come with me!”

“You know I’d love to but I can’t little brother, there’s some responsibilities that I can’t drop-even for you.” Itachi smiled and kneeled down so that he was face level with Sasuke, “But if you’re not too mad at me, later on tonight we can practice together, I’ll even show you this new jutsu Rembu-san showed me a few weeks ago.” Itachi poked his brothers forehead, “Come on, stop pouting, I know you want to say yes.” Itachi drew closer then quickly picked his brother up, he threw Sasuke up into the air then caught him. It was a habit they had with one another ever since Sasuke was a baby.

Sasuke’s anger slowly melted away. He let out a delighted giggle and nodded eagerly. “Fine but it better be a super cool jutsu okay!”

“Of course, only the best for my beloved little brother.” Itachi smiled.

* * *

 

Later on that day Sasuke found himself roaming aimlessly around the palace. He was beyond bored and was contemplating whether or not he should go outside and look for something fun to do or if he should just wait a little longer until his father arrived so he could welcome him home. Sasuke sighed as he trudged up the marble steps. The palace was so big and yet there was nothing fun to do. Without Itachi here everything seemed useless and mundane, there was no color in Sasuke’s world if his brother wasn’t around. 

Everyone in the Uchiha palace knew of the young princes strange affixation with the elder heir. It was also well know in the Uchiha clan that the youngest prince dearly loved his elder brother. Sasuke loved that everyone knew, it meant that no one would ever get the dumb idea to try and become Itachi’s best friend because they would know that Itachi already had one and that was him!

Sasuke internally cheered for himself when he finally made it up the multiple marble steps. He looked up and greeted the towering, floor length portrait of his father that hung on the wall right in the center of the double staircase. 

“Hello, father.” Sasuke greeted playfully. “Hello, mother.” Sasuke bowed to the equally large portrait of his mother that hung right beside the portrait of his father.“How has your day been, mines been long, I miss my Chi-chi.” Sasuke confessed. He bowed to the portraits then skipped along. 

_What should I do?_ Sasuke asked himself as he walked down the long expanse of the hallway, his father’s office was right at the end of the hallway but he was a whole hour early from when his father was supposed to arrive. He couldn’t spend an entire hour just waiting for his father because that would be beyond pathetic. But, even as Sasuke thought this, his legs still carried him forward to the gleaming double doors of his father’s study. He was about to knock on the wooden surface when he realized that the door was slightly pushed open. Curiosity got the better of Sasuke and he quickly ducked so he so he peek his eye into the study without being seen just in case someone was actually in there. Sasuke scrunched one eye closed and tried to see who was in the room, he wished he had the sharingan like his brother so he could activate it and properly see but this would have to do for now until he actually developed his families genetic power. Sasuke suddenly heard a very deep-very familiar voice. It was his father and as Sasuke craned his head higher so he could make out a figure of another man seated across from his father.

“Are you sure about this Fugaku? I’ve heard some crazy things about the Uzumaki clan.”

“Yes, I’m absolutely certain. Their as powerful as us, they sealed a nine tailed wild beast within one of their woman, they control wind in the palm of their hands as if it is nothing-I’m absolutely sure that they are worthy.”

“I know-I know I’ve heard the stories, their king can teleport in a blink of an eye and all of their women bear sons and daughters who excel in some sort of jutsu, their outstanding…but are you sure that you want to unite our clans this way?”

Sasuke was unsure what his father was talking about, he had never heard about these Uzumaki people before. Sasuke strained his ear closer so he could hear more clearly.

“Yes, Itachi is of age now, and I’m exhausted of receiving and rejecting all of the marriage bids he receives, the council has also begun to urge Mikoto and I to accept a bid so Itachi can produce an heir-it’s time and this clan is the one.”

“I don’t know…there’s so many to choose from, I heard the Hyūga clan submitted their precious heiress. Do you know how many clans would kill to have her as their sons wife? Maybe you should explore more options?”

“No, it has to be them, they didn’t even put in a bid-”

“-Didn’t even put in a bid?! Then why did you ask for consent from the emperor if you don’t even know if they want to marry off their daughter to you!”

“Because I know they will accept, they’re just like any other clan in regards that they want the best for their daughter and we are the best.”

“Why go through so much just for them? There are plenty other strong clans!”

“There’s no one else like them, you see, the Uzumaki clan is a Senju clan. They are the only clan in the world who can compete with us, if we get their daughter and she has Itachi’s child then that child will be Uchiha and Senju. It will be the most powerful child in the world and since it is their daughter who will bore that child, the child will be an Uchiha and not an Uzumaki-it’ll be absolutely perfect. The next heir of the Uchiha clan will be the most powerful child in existence.  
It has to be them, other clans are strong but they don’t posses the Senju blood we need to make my plan work.” 

“You’re a sneaky old man, but I can’t complain. It sounds like a good plan. So it’s settled then, Itachi will finally be getting married –eh?”

“Yes, in a few months time, Itachi’s betrothed will show up and everything will go according to plan.”

“Does Itachi know?”

“Of course he does-I told months ago.”

Sasuke couldn’t listen to anymore, he ran away, down the long, corridor, down the endless marble steps, and out into the open air.

 

Sasuke walked through the dry flowerbed by the palaces upper north wing. He had come here because it was somewhere he knew no one in his family would be at. He needed to be alone. His mind was racing a mile a minute. As he stalked across the garden, his black outdoor boots stomped on the red roses his mother so adored. He paid no mind to the defenseless flowers or the devastation he was havocking on the well-tended garden. His head was hung low, something that rarely happened since he knew Uchiha’s were supposed to always walk with their shoulders back and their head held up high. Sasuke had always taken this rule to heart, ever since the age of three when his father had first taught the rule to him, he had made sure to walk in the correct manner but at this particular moment he simply couldn't. He couldn't focus on anything because his mind was plagued with only one thing-Itachi was betrothed and his future bride was supposed to be arriving in a few months time.

Sasuke didn't know why his brother marrying some stranger bothered him so much but it did. Sasuke was angry and also worried but most of all he was a little nervous about what would happen when this mystery girl arrived. Would Itachi stop playing with him altogether just so he could be with his new wife? Or what if this girl was mean? Sasuke knew many girls who wanted to marry his big brother and have his babies but Itachi had never paid attention to any of them, he never thought he'd have to share his big brother with anyone. Sasuke frowned. He didn't want that. His big brother was the only person who actually paid attention to him in the whole palace.

As Sasuke thought of his brother being taken away from him an immense feeling of sadness overcame him. He wasn't used to this feeling so he didn't understand why there was water trickling down his cheek until a few seconds later when he realized they were tears.

"What are you doing out here all alone?" An annoying voice chimed from behind him.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He held back the urge to hiss. He knew exactly who had spoken just from the voice alone. He wasn't in the mood to entertain any type of guests, especially not his annoying cousin.

"What are you doing here, Gaara? Mother didn't inform me of your arrival." Sasuke sneered. He quickly wiped the lone tear under his eye away then turned around to face the red head. 

His cousin was the prince and appointed heir of Sunagakure, the capital of sand country. Gaara had suffered from a disease as a child, which had left him frail and had also stunted his growth. He was older than Sasuke by four years but was still the same height. Before Gaara's tenth birthday everyone had thought with out a doubt that he would be a submissive but to everyone's amazement Gaara had developed the half moon mark on the inside of his palm that declared his dominant status. To make up for his small stature, Gaara's father always made him dress up in extremely extravagant garments so no one would undermine him. That's why the long maroon silk blouse trimmed in gold that Gaara was wearing didn’t surprise Sasuke or the multiple gold bangles he wore around his pale arms and ankles. Even in this insufferable summer heat Gaara was dressed in gold. As always Sasuke thought the clothes were over the top, none of it was necessary. Even with Gaara’s short stature it was obvious that he was royalty. His teal eyes and flaming red hair were quintessential marks of royal blood in Sand Country. Anyone with eyes could see that Gaara was of nobility, it didn't matter that he looked like a submissive. 

"I'm in no mood to play with you today so go away." Sasuke said coldly.

"Awe, why? I came all the way from Suna just to see you." Gaara whined in a high pitch childish tone. His bangles glittered in the sunlight as he stomped his foot and folded his small arms over his chest. "I just spent three weeks on the road in a stuffy carriage, the least you can do is play with me!" Gaara pouted, his cheeks puffed out making him look even younger.

"I didn't ask you to do that nor did I invite you so don't expect me to care. Now leave me alone!" Sasuke shouted heatedly.

"Actually dear little cousin," Gaara’s voice dropped a few octaves, the childish voice he reserved for when he was trying to act cute completely disappeared. He kept the same posture but his entire demeanor changed, his new attitude made him look sinister, like he was plotting all the ways in which to murder you in his mind. This was the Garra that Sasuke was used to, not that fragile whining one from seconds ago. "Your parents invited me, well actually Itachi unofficially invited me six months ago when he came to visit with your father, but your parents officially invited me along with the rest of my family two months ago."

"Invited you for what?" Sasuke knew the answer deep down but he didn't want to believe it because if it was true then that meant Gaara had known about Itachi’s betrothal before him.

"Duh, you dimwit, they invited me to Itachi’s betrothal ceremony." Gaara’s face split into a teasing grin, his teal eyes narrowed in amusement. "So, yes, you should care because I am your guest and also your cousin so you should entertain me by playing with me!" Gaara smirked. Sasuke knew by the slight crazed look in Gaara’s eyes that it wasn't really a request but a demand. Gaara could be lethal when angered. His small and delicate appearance was so misleading it was comical. But Sasuke wasn't afraid of Gaara so he didn't care.

"I don't care if Itachi invited you or if my parents did! I didn't know about his betrothal until only a few minutes ago so you can go have him entertain you if you're so bored!" Sasuke shouted. He couldn't believe his fear had been confirmed. Itachi really had told Garra first. This day couldn't get any worse. Not only was he going to lose his brother to some girl but his brother had also kept this a secret from him and told someone else first. Sasuke withheld the urge to pout. Did this mean that Itachi and Gaara were close? No, if they were he would've have noticed by now!

"Oh, you barely found out?" Gaara laughed. "That's strange, I thought you and Itachi were suuuuper close."

"Yeah, well, I thought so too but I guess not." This time Sasuke couldn't hold back his pout. He was just so devastated. If he didn't have Itachi then what did he have? A stuffy old palace filled with boring maids and butlers?!

"Don't pout cousin, you still have me." Gaara pinched Sasuke’s cheek, "I'll be your new big brother don't you worry!" Gaara said animatedly. His words were sweet but his eyes were glazed over as if he were imagining all of the evil things he could accomplish by becoming Sasuke’s new brother. Being the heir to Sunagakure was nice but if he were to become the heir to the Uchiha clan the possibilities would be endless-the worlds greatest army would be at his disposal.

"Don't put your filthy hands on me!" Sasuke hissed. He slapped Gaara’s hand away. "You can fantasize all you want but it'll never happen!"

"Oww, that hurt!" Gaara cried. He clutched his hand to his chest as if Sasuke had burned him, "there's no need to assault me, I was just trying to cheer you up."

"Yeah, right. You probably love this. You were always jealous of Itachi."

"Correction, I was jealous of your relationship with Itachi. "

Sasuke knew this. It was a well-known fact that Gaara had two siblings but was treated as an only child. Gaara’s sister was mothered by a lowly concubine who had committed suicide after giving birth to her. Gaara's brother was of legitimate birth but had been born with brown hair and brown eyes, which in Sand Country meant that he wasn't a true royal and was unworthy to become an heir to the throne. Because of this Gaara’s siblings were treated as nothing more than extra weight, in Gaara’s fathers eyes he only had one true child and that child was Gaara. Gaara had always been jealous of Itachi’s relationship with Sasuke because it was something he could never have, a normal loving sibling relationship. Sasuke would've pitied Gaara over this but Gaara was not someone who could be easily pitied. He was too annoying for that.

"Whatever, and I would never want you for a brother, a commoner would make a better brother over you!" Sasuke stuck out his tongue.

"Take that back you little imp!" Gaara bellowed.

Sasuke smirked. He knew the commoner remark would anger Gaara. The royalty complex Gaara’s father had grounded into him had made Gaara extremely delicate to topics like it.

"Never! I'll even say it again, a commoner would be a much, much, muuuuuuch brother than you!"

"Yeah, well Itachi likes me more than you!" Gaara retaliated. A vicious grin bloomed across his face. "After he gets married and I get married we'll become even closer and you'll have to spend time all alone because we'll be too busy with our wives together!"

Sasuke saw red. He hurled his body at Gaara and tackled him to the floor. He straddled his cousin’s lap and started punching before Gaara could realize what had happened and gain the upper hand.

"Don't" _–punch-_ "you" _–punch-_ "ever" _–punch-_ "say" _–punch-_ "that" _–punch-_ "again!" Sasuke heaved. He laughed as he saw blood erupt from Gaara’s nose; it was as red as his hair. However His mirth quickly drained and turned into dread when he saw a familiar figure looming over him. He slowly looked up and gulped.

"What is the meaning of this?"

_Damn._ Sasuke internally cursed. What was his mother doing here?

He quickly hopped off of Gaara body and bowed to his mother. "I'm sorry mother, this isn't what it seems, we were playing and things got out of control."

"Gaara is this true? If my son is lying please tell me so I can appropriately punish him. This isn't how a guest of an Uchiha should be treated."

Sasuke anxiously watched as Gaara hobbled up into a sitting position. His red hair was caked in dirt and sticking up in random directions. There was a red bump that would most likely turn into a bruise tomorrow morning underneath Gaara’s left eye and his nose was gushing out blood. Sasuke winced; he hadn't realized he had been hitting Gaara that hard. He kind of felt a little bad now, Gaara’s body was naturally weak but Gaara knew how to fight. If Sasuke hadn’t attacked so quickly then Gaara could’ve easily gained the upper hand. Garra had every right to sell him out to his mother but he was silently hoping that his cousin would keep his mouth shut. Sasuke sent a prayer up to Kaguya, if Gaara said nothing then he'd somehow make it up to his cousin later.

Gaara slowly stood up. He brushed down his hair with his hand and dusted off his silk robe, then looked up to Mikoto while smirking. "No, your highness, Sasuke is telling the truth, we were only playing."

Sasuke mouth popped open in shock. He quickly shut it closed before his mother could catch him. He couldn't believe Gaara had just done that.

"Oh," Mikoto's eyes widened slightly, she clearly hadn't expected that answer either. "Very well then," she snapped her fingers and a maid appeared at her side, "Gaara, this maid will escort you to the infirmary, after the doctor is done tending to your wounds please take it easy for the rest of the day, I don't want your father to worry about you if you fall ill."

"Thank you." Gaara bowed then followed the maid out of the garden but not before shooting Sasuke an amused look, which Sasuke interpreted as Gaara telling him that this wasn't over.

"And you!" the Uchiha matriarch turned to her youngest son as soon as Gaara was gone, "you know of your cousins delicate condition, I don't want you playing those type of games with him again do you understand?"

"Yes, mom." Sasuke sighed.

"I've been looking for you," Mikoto admitted, her anger left her small body in a single exhale. Her painted red lips tugged down into a frown. She looked worried or anxious, Sasuke couldn't decide which applied better. "I have something I want to discuss with you."

Sasuke’s ears perked up at this.

"But not here, somewhere more private. Follow me."

Sasuke nodded and wordlessly followed his mother like a little duckling following its mommy.

* * *

 

Sasuke’s mother had led him to one of the many tearooms in the palace. There was so many that there were some tearooms that Sasuke had never even seen with his own eyes before. The one he and his mother were currently seated in was scarcely decorated, there was a single Uchiha flag hanging on the painted red wall along with a portrait of his father, in the middle of the room was one low black lacquered oval table with an untouched tea set in the middle. The door was slid shut. As Sasuke looked around he was absolutely certain that this was one of the tearooms he hadn't been in. It was so underwhelmingly decorated, maybe this was an unfinished room that had been abandoned midway or maybe this was the maids own personal tearoom? Either way the severe secrecy of where his mother had led him made Sasuke very, very nervous.

Sasuke timidly glanced at his mother. A portion of her long black hair was pinned in an intricate braided bun on the top of her head while the rest of it fell down her back, in the center of the bun was a gold dragon comb that had two rubies for eyes. It was the sacred animal of the Uchiha clan; it breathed fire just like the Uchiha people. The comb was a sacred family heirloom that his mother always wore. Sasuke could recall his mother once telling him that the comb was passed down to every Uchiha kings submissive after they gave birth to their first son. Sasuke knew his mother cherished it more than anything. His mother was wearing a plain summer kimono, with only three layers. The bottom layer was a deep midnight black, the second layer was a light gray color and had a simple flower pattern on it and the top layer was the standard color of the Uchiha clan, blood red. There were jewels on her hands and around her neck. And on her pale forehead was the tattooed insignia that every Uchiha kings bride bore, three blood red dots going down at an angle, the middle one being the lowest and the other two being slightly raised. It wasn't until now, as he sat there observing her that Sasuke realized that his mother looked uncharacteristically apprehensive.

"There's no easy way for me to say this." Mikoto began in a grave voice. Her black eyes were settled straight ahead into her sons. "You're young and I know how much you love your brother but things are going to change around here, Sasuke."

So this was the reason for her hesitancy? Sasuke should've known. He had thought Itachi would be the one to tell him about the betrothal but no, it was his mother. He couldn't help but be a little disappointed at it. Itachi had told Gaara so why couldn't he tell him as well?

"What do you mean?" Sasuke pretended to be surprised. His mother couldn't know he had been eavesdropping. Eavesdropping wasn't something Uchiha’s did, if they wanted to know something then they didn’t hide it.

"Your father has finally found a bride for your brother, Itachi is going to be married soon and when his betrothed comes I want you to be on your best behavior, you're going to have to share your brother and I don't want you clinging to him when his bride arrives." The matriarch ordered. She was sweet and caring like every other mother but she was also an Uchiha and she didn't ask for things, she's demanded for them. Sasuke wasn't being given an option; his mother’s words were law. "His future bride will be arriving from Whirlpool Country in two weeks."

"Two weeks?!" Sasuke nearly screamed. His heart lurched in his chest. He had thought the girl would be arriving in a few months not weeks! He needed more time so he could properly spend his last days with his brother before everything changed! Sasuke hadn't thought today could get any worse but he was dead wrong. Apparently it could and it just did. He swallowed away his surprise and plastered an indifferent expression on his face. "Why so soon?"

"Your brothers age has begun to concern the council, he's fifteen, almost sixteen. If we wait any longer with the ceremony Itachi won't be married until he's twenty. We need an heir long before then." The matriarch glared ahead. There was still so much that had to be done.

Sasuke felt like he was going to vomit. The thought of his brother and this mystery girl doing that was too much to bear. He didn't want Itachi to marry anyone and he sure as hell didn't want Itachi to do that with anyone else either! But his mother was right. As their fathers successor it was Itachi’s birthright and duty to continue the royal Uchiha bloodline.

"You're so young so I don't expect you to understand. All I want from you is for you to behave yourself."

"Mom, I'm always on my best behavior, I'm practically as boring as that boring pervert sensei of mine." Sasuke tried to smile but it wobbled away before he could even pull his lips into any direction. His heart was sinking. He had known that someday his brother would get married but he hadn't expected it to hurt this much. 

"I know but I just want you to behave like the young prince I've raised you to be. We need to make a lasting impression and solidify this betrothal, you're too young to understand what's at stake here but it's extremely important for everything to go perfect, okay."

"Mom, my nanny raised me not you," Sasuke corrected. The Uchiha matriarch gave a surprised look at this but said nothing for they both knew Sasuke’s words rung true, "and besides I'm nine mom, not five. I perfectly understand that we have to be good so that these princesses’ parents will like us enough to entrust their daughter to our family so that Itachi can impregnate her and continue on our family name. I'm not an idiot mother, or a dumb little boy who knows nothing. I know more than you think. In a few years time I will also have a bride of my own so don't treat me like a child."

Mikoto gaped at her little son. He was barely tall enough to stand underneath her breast and yet he had all the wit and fire in him as his father. He was the embodiment of what an Uchiha man should be. It filled her with pride that Sasuke was her son. She hoped with all her heart that her son would develop into a strong dominant. If Sasuke turned into a submissive it'd break her heart. He was too strong willed to be one. 

"Yes, you too will have a betrothed just like your brother but until then," Mikoto reached across the small expanse of the tea table, the long sleeves of her blood red kimono fanned around Sasuke, engulfing the little prince. "I am still your mother and you are still my child." She ran her pale hand through her sons raven locks; it was still as soft as a baby's. She smiled wistfully at this revelation, her son could spout off like a grown up all he wanted but he was still a child, just for a little while longer. He was still a child.

"Now let's get going, we have to get lots of things ready before they arrive!" Mikoto sang excitedly. "We have to make everything look its best! The palace must be prepared!" Mikoto dragged her son along as she listed all the things that still had to be done before Itachi’s future bride came. 

* * *

 

"I don't see how this is supposed to be fun." Sasuke growled. He was knee deep in the garden pond. There were pink lotuses floating on top of the water and little frogs and koi fish swam underneath and all around him. It would've been nice if it wasn't for the fact that he was being forced to be here.

"It's a game. Whoever catches a frog first is the winner. What's not fun about that?" Gaara replied unbothered. He was sitting chest deep in the water. He lounged back with his face pointed up to the sun, enjoying the warm weather paired with the cooling water. He was in his own personal heaven.

"It's not fun because you're not even trying, I've already caught six!" Sasuke yelled. They had been outside for nearly a whole hour now. Gaara was used to the intense heat of the sun due to him being from Sunagakure where everyday of the year was like a hot summer day but Sasuke wasn't used to it. His pale skin was sensitive to the heat; he was steadily turning red and the longer he stayed out, the redder his skin turned.

"Stop complaining, you were the one who said you wanted to make it up to me for giving me this remember?" Gaara pointed with his eyes still closed at the black ring around his left eye. The bruise was a deep purple and red. Even though four days had passed since their fight, Gaara’s black eye wasn't showing any signs of healing anytime soon. Sasuke frowned, Gaara was right; he did promise to make it up to him.

"Fine." Sasuke sighed as he plopped down into the shallow water and took a seat next to Gaara.

"Cheer up cousin, considering how hard you hit me I'm letting you off easy. Enjoy the sun, smell the fresh air, be happy!" Gaara smiled lazily. "Not everyone has the luxury of sitting around on a sunny afternoon like we do. Some kids actually have to work for a living."

"I know. It's just hard to be happy lately." Sasuke admitted. In the last four days Sasuke hadn't talked to his brother once. It was the longest period of time Sasuke had went without conversing with Itachi in awhile. He was ignoring his brother though so there was nothing he could do about it. His stubbornness ultimately stopped him from ending the silence between his brother and himself.

"Are you still sulking about Itachi’s betrothal?" Gaara laughed. "Why? It was bound to happen eventually."

"Shut up! You don't get it! He's my brother! Not some dumb girls!" Sasuke hissed. Gaara would never be able to understand, his nonexistent relationship with his siblings disallowed him from being able to grasp how Sasuke was feeling.

"You sound jealous." Gaara laughed, his eyes were still blissfully closed as he soaked up the sun. "You shouldn't be, this is an arranged marriage. In most arranged marriages the two people don't even love each other. Just like my mom and dad, so don't worry about it. Your precious brother will still be yours."

Sasuke blushed. He hadn't thought about it like that. It was moments like these when Gaara was uncharacteristically smart that Sasuke remembered that Gaara was actually older than him and as a result knew much more things compared to him.

"D-do you really think so?" Sasuke asked in a quiet hopeful voice.

"Mhmm, my dad was so unhappy in his first arranged marriage that he ended up cheating on her with a concubine and whoops Temari was born!" Gaara said in a displeased tone. He rolled his shoulders forward and slowly opened up his eyes. He dragged his teal eyes away from the sky and down towards Sasuke, "this girl that Itachi is going to marry is from a totally different country and probably doesn't even have the same customs or beliefs as him! She probably doesn’t even speak the same language! How does anyone expect to fall in love with someone if they don't even speak the same language!" Gaara sighed, "you shouldn't be jealous, if anything you should be happy because now your brother is probably nervous and will want to hang out with you even more to ease his nerves."

Sasuke felt like he was going to explode with happiness. Gaara’s words all made sense. He had been so stupid to act the way he had been! Of course he was angry with Itachi for not telling him and for telling Gaara first but at least now he wasn't suffering from the horrendous anxiousness he had been plagued with ever since he overheard his father talking about Itachi’s betrothal. He bolted up, the water sloshed around him as he jumped up excitedly.

"I'll be back, I'm going to go talk my brother." Sasuke didn't wait for Gaara’s reply. He ran out the water and made a beeline for where he knew his brother would be. The dojo practice room.

Sasuke ran as fast as he could. His wet feet beating down on the palace's slippery floor slowed him down a little but he pushed on until he made it to the familiar door of the dojo. He knocked once then entered.

"Young lord, what are you doing here?" Itachi's fighting instructor, Rembu, a graying old man who had been a war hero back in the day, greeted Sasuke with a bow.

"Where's my brother?" Sasuke asked quickly. He scanned his eyes across the dojo and frowned when he didn't see his brother. It was three-o-clock and Itachi always practiced during the afternoon.

"He hasn't been here all week, his highness has been studying every day instead of practicing." Rembu explained as if it was common knowledge that Sasuke should've known.

"Studying? Studying what? Itachi's a genius he doesn't study!" Sasuke growled. He didn't like not knowing things about his brother.

"Ah, forgive me I thought his highness told you," Rembu bowed in apology, "he has been studying with a tutor the language of his betrotheds mother country. He explained to me that he didn’t want his bride to feel alone here when she came."

Sasuke slammed his fist against the wall. It hurt so much but the pain was nothing compared to the anger coursing through his body. 

"Young lord, what's wro-"

Sasuke bolted out the dojo, he wanted to be alone. Completely alone. He ran until he was in the north garden. 

Gaara had been wrong. He was so dumb to listen to that stupid cousin of his! He wiped furiously at the tears sliding down his face. He wanted to hit something! Anything! He ran to the bed of red roses he had stomped on a couple of days earlier and began to tear them out of the ground.

"Stupid, Chi-chi!" Sasuke cried as he ripped the flowers from the dirt. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

"What are you doing little brother?"

Sasuke froze. His heart felt like an icicle in his chest. He didn't even want to turn around. He didn't have to because in the next second his brother had walked over and knelt down beside him.

"Look at me." Itachi ordered quietly. He grabbed Sasuke’s chin and forced his head up so that their eyes met. "Why are you crying? Did someone hurt you?" Itachi asked heatedly. His eyes turned blood red as he used his sharingan to rove his eyes over Sasuke’s small body to check for any wounds. Seconds later his eyes bled back into black when he found nothing.

"Answer me, what's wrong."

Sasuke held his breath. He wanted to hit his brother in his perfect face. He was so angry but another part of him wanted to hug his brother and never let him go. He wanted to take Itachi in his arms and hold him until all of this talk of betrothals and girls from other countries was done with and never brought up again.

"Sasuke, whatever it is that's wrong you can tell me. I've noticed you've been ignoring me, talk to me, what's bothering you?" Itachi leaned closer and Sasuke couldn't take it anymore, his lips loosened and he let out everything.

"I don't want you to get married! You're my brother, I don't want a girl to take you away!" Sasuke cried. He felt so weak, he knew Uchiha’s shouldn't cry shamelessly like this but he couldn't hold it in any longer. He wrapped his arms around his brother and clung to him as he let all the emotions he had been hoarding inside him self.

"Ah," Itachi said, finally understanding why his little brother had been acting so weird over the last four days." There's no need for tears, little brother."

"There's not?" Sasuke sniffled confused.

"Yes," Itachi pried Sasuke’s body away and sat him down on his knee so he could look at Sasuke’s face. He took the sleeve of his haori and wiped Sasuke’s tears away. "Even if I get married I’ll still be your big brother."

"No you won't! You'll spend all your time with her and forget all about me!" Sasuke cried with renewed vigor.

"Stop crying, little brother, it saddens me greatly to see you like this." Itachi hugged his brother close, "I could never forget about you I promise nothing will change, I'll still spend time with you."

"You promise." Sasuke looked up imploringly into his brother’s eyes.

"Yes, I promise." Itachi chuckled.

"You swear it on Kaguya?"

"Yes, I swear it on the sacred mother herself, I will always make time for you." Itachi kissed his brothers cheek. "Now, is that why you were tearing mother’s poor garden apart?"

"Yes! I was angry at you and I still am angry at you!" Sasuke crossed his arms and looked away from his brother.

"Why are you still angry at me?" Itachi prodded gently. Amusement colored his deep voice.

"Because you told Gaara first! When were you planning on telling me! Why did mom tell me and Gaara got a personal invitation first!? Hmm?"

Itachi laughed merrily, his little brother was so adorably clingy he never wanted him to grow up. He poked his brother’s forehead then stood up, pulling his brother up with him. "I never invited Gaara, father did and I was going to tell you this weekend when we went into town to check out the new weapons on display in the market."

"Oh." Sasuke blushed. He suddenly felt stupid, like he had made a big deal out of nothing. "I'm still mad, no matter what you say I still don't want you to get married, I won't like her! She won't be good enough for you! Why do you need a bride? Why can't we just be together for a little longer!" 

"Hush little brother, no matter what happens you will always be my favorite person, I won't ask you to like her but please can you promise me to at least try?"

"No!" Sasuke snapped. How could his brother ask him that? There was no way he could ever like this mystery girl!

"Please Sasuke, for me?"

"No!"

"Your resistance makes me very sad little brother, but, very well," Sasuke frowned; he hadn't meant to make his brother sad! "Can you at least promise me that you'll be nice to her?"

Sasuke begrudgingly nodded his head. He'd do it for his brother.

"Thank you." Itachi smiled, "now let's go get you cleaned up, if mother sees you wet and covered in dirt like this she'll never let you play outside again."

Sasuke nodded excitedly. He tightly held onto his brother’s hand. He only had a few days left with his brother until Itachi’s future bride arrived and took Itachi away from him and Sasuke was going to spend every second until then with his most favorite person in the world.

* * *

 

The day had finally come. Itachi's betrothed would be arriving today. Sasuke had been dreading this day for the past two weeks. He had promised his brother that he'd be on his best behavior and that he'd be nice to the mystery girl but that had been a week ago and now Sasuke wasn't so sure how well he'd be able to keep that promise.

Sasuke had woken up early that day. He had to dress up in nice clothes and partake in the pre-ceremony where a priest would come to their home and bless Itachi and his family with good fortune so that the betrothal would go well. After that Sasuke and the rest of the Uchiha royal family along with Gaara and the other royals who had made the long journey for this momentous day stood outside the palace front doors to await the carriage that would bring Itachi’s future bride and her family. It was incredibly hot outside and Sasuke was getting angrier and angrier by the second. He was dressed in all black and the summer sun was boiling him alive. Every time he'd sneak a glance at his brother he noticed a small smile on his brothers lips. It angered Sasuke even more. Gaara noticed his irritation and nudged him.

"Itachi looks excited to meet his new bride, maybe you should get that stick out of your ass and be excited too." Gaara whispered teasingly.

"Shut up before I give you another black eye, Sabaku." Sasuke hissed back. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked off into the horizon. Any second now Itachi’s bride would arrive.

Sasuke didn't know much about Itachi’s bride other than that she was from the Uzumaki clan in Whirlpool Country. He had learned from his sensei that Whirlpool Country was on the other side of the world in the far west. His mother had told him that the Uzumaki’s were the Uchiha’s of the west. They were incredibly strong and known for their sealing jutsus and wind power techniques. When Sasuke had eavesdropped on his father’s conversation a couple weeks ago he had said nothing but good things, which Sasuke assumed, meant that they must've been an extremely powerful clan to garner his fathers respect. Sasuke didn't care though, this girl could’ve been the emperor’s daughter and she still wouldn't have been good enough for his big brother!

Ten minutes later a white carriage along with two other carriages that had whirlpool flags hanging from them rolled to a stop in front of them. Everyone leaned forward, anticipating who would come out of the carriage first.

"She's late." Sasuke growled. He couldn't believe this stupid mystery girl had the audacity to make them wait; it just furthered Sasuke’s dislike for her. Be calm, Sasuke reminded him self. For his brothers sake he had to at least try to be positive and like this girl. But she was making it difficult for him, who shows up to their own betrothal ceremony late! She might've been a princess but she had the manners of a commoner.

From the corner of his eye Sasuke saw his father nod to a group of servants who immediately ran up to the carriage to assist the royal family seated inside. But before the servants could open the carriage door a red headed little girl bursted out of it.

"Wah, it feels so good to be out of that stuffy carriage." The little girl stretched her arms up over her head. She was dressed in a short, light blue, haori that was trimmed with brilliant gold fabric. The sleeves were long and went far past her hands. Sasuke found the black hakama she was wearing extremely odd. Most girls of royal blood he knew were forbidden to wear such things unless they were riding horses or doing other physical strenuous things but then again most royal submissive girls never partook in such dangerous things for fear that they'd get in an accident and damage their wombs.

The odd girls red hair was cut short and was tied up into a bun, her messy bangs framed her face and she had a small golden crown with a single blue sapphire in the middle on the top of her head. Sasuke was stunned. Was this Itachi’s betrothed? This was the famed mystery girl he had been so worried about? Sasuke scoffed. Itachi deserved much better.

"Karin, I told you not to exit first!" A woman dressed in the most beautiful pale blue kimono Sasuke had ever seen said as she slowly climbed out of the carriage. Her heart shaped face was framed by long red hair that was adorned with two strings of pearls and blue silk roses. Her waist was bound with a golden sash that had dozens of sewed in rising suns on it. The sash was long and went past the length of her kimono; it trailed behind her like a glorious shining train. Her eyes were a dull blue, which fascinated Sasuke because he had never seen such a vivid color before. Even Gaara’s teal eyes didn't compare. There was a small blue circle that looked like a whirlpool on her kimono sleeve, which Sasuke guessed was the Uzumaki clan symbol.

_"Awe, come on mom, I was cramped! I needed to stretch!"_ The girl, now known as Karin, whined. Her crimson eyes reminded Sasuke of the sharingan but less impressive. They were like a watered down version.

"I'm extremely sorry about this," the beautiful woman bowed partially, her bound waist disallowed her from bending down anymore than only a few centimeters, "I am Kushina Uzumaki, the queen of the Uzumaki clan and daughter of the emperor of Whirlpool Country, this is my daughter, Karin."

"Bow," Kushina ordered her daughter.

Karin rolled her eyes but nevertheless bowed.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all." Karin recited in a diplomatic tone. As if she had practiced saying the short sentence for hours.

Sasuke was slightly amazed. Kushina was the daughter of the emperor of Whirlpool. He didn't know how things were ranked in Whirlpool Country, but in Fire Country the emperor was considered a king amongst kings. Which meant Kushina was of pure royal blood. Sasuke sneered; this meant that Itachi’s bride was even more royal than he had thought.

"It's fine, we understand, our Sasuke can be a little troublesome occasionally as well." Mikoto giggled. She was dressed in all red, the color of their clan. Her black hair was done up in a braided style and was decorated with the golden dragon hair comb she always wore. This time, however, her hairstylist had added strings of rubies to her braids so that her hair sparkled underneath the summer sun rays. Her red lips were stretched into a pleasant smile.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at his mothers lie. He was never "troublesome."

"If I may ask, is this the young princess you intend to marry to my eldest son?" Mikoto smiled down at Karin. He could see the displeasure hidden deep within his mothers coal black eyes. Good, Sasuke thought excitedly, if his mother was displeased then maybe she'd call off this whole thing and he wouldn't have to share his brother after all!

"Ah, no," Kushina laughed amused, Sasuke internally cursed. He hoped whoever the other girl was, would also displease his mother as well.

"My daughter Karin is a dominant," Kushina explained. She nudged her daughter who then raised her hand and pulled back her long sleeves. There in the middle of Karin's palm was the half moon mark that signified her dominant status. "She is the future heir to the Uzumaki clan, she will never be married into another clan."

This explained Karin’s boyish hairstyle and attire. Now that Sasuke looked more closely at her, her build was semi muscular. In a few years he could imagine her on a throne ruling a kingdom. She was the granddaughter of an emperor, which meant she had genetically inherited the wit and wisdom of a ruler. Sasuke grimaced; he couldn't believe that one day this girl would have a higher title than him.

"Itachi's intended will come out in a few seconds, his father wanted to have a few last words with him before stepping out." Kushina explained apologetically. She smiled sweetly to the crowd. They all nodded in understanding. Most of them were distracted by the sheer beauty of her entire appearance. It was clear that she was foreign. Not only was her appearance different but the way she talked, the way both she and her daughter spoke, was different as well. It was like they had a slight accent and everyone just wanted to rush to the woman and ask her to speak her true language so they could hear it.

Sasuke gaped. _'His father'_ did that mean...Itachi’s betrothed was a boy!? Had no one else heard that!? Everyone was so entranced by this woman that they weren't even listening to her words!

"It's no problem, we completely understand." Fugaku said stoically.

Sasuke didn't understand why no one was freaking out. Had no one really not heard what that woman had just said? He shot a glance at Itachi to see if his brother was also freaking out. Nope, to his extreme displeasure, Itachi looked just as eager as earlier. His eyes were glued to the carriage door, as if any second his future bride would step out and he didn't want to miss it when she did.

"Did you hear what she just said or am I going crazy?" Sasuke murmured urgently to Gaara.

"What are you referring to?" Gaara smirked, "the part about Itachi’s bride being a boy or the part about her daughter being a dominant, both were surprising."

"Obviously Itachi’s bride!" Sasuke whispered back.

Before Gaara could answer the carriage door swung open again. Sasuke snapped his eyes up, ready to see the face of his brothers future bride but instead out stepped a blonde headed man. It was obvious that he was a king by the grand gold crown on his head. He was dressed simple for someone with such a high status; a royal blue haori and a simple pair of black hakama.

"Good afternoon, I am Minato, the king of the Uzumaki clan." As he introduced himself a slew of what Sasuke presumed to be servants along with a few guards stepped out of the two carriages behind the white one that Karin and Kushina and Minato had exited out of. Four servants and guards kneeled at the feet of their king while two other servants stood at either end of the white carriage door.

"I am finally ready to present to you my son."

The two servants located on the sides of the carriage door immediately opened it. There was a moment of silence as everyone waited expectantly. The tension was palpable; everyone wanted to see this mysterious person who would become Itachi’s bride. After declining so many marriage bids their sacred heir was finally going to have a bride. This person would become the new queen and future mother of the next heir-Sasuke held his breath.

It was like everything was happening in slow motion. Sasuke didn't know what he expected but he certainly wasn't expecting this type of...beauty? The boy-Sasuke wasn't even sure if it was a boy-was too beautiful for words. He had bright blue eyes, even brighter than Kushina's. The color didn't even look real, it was like someone had taken a piece of the sky and had liquefied it down and then poured it into the boys eyes, like two sapphire stones. The boys face was heart shaped just like his mothers and his lips were plump and pink. His pink cheeks were slightly chubby and had three marks going across each of them. The boy had a blinding head of bright blonde hair, his hair hung loose down his back, like spun gold glittering in the sunlight. Half of his hair was tied up into a bun, which had a jade comb in it; the comb had a string of pearls and flowers dangling from it along with a single sapphire in the center of it. The boy was also wearing a pale blue kimono like his mother except this one wasn't bound at the waist but instead was tight at the chest area then billowed out stiffly underneath him. The kimono was also much shorter and the sleeves were also long like Karin's.

"May I present to you, my son, Naruto Uzumaki, Itachi Uchiha’s betrothed."

No one said anything for a few seconds, they were too enchanted by the sheer beauty of the little sun god standing before them, but then suddenly Itachi bowed. Sasuke was stunned speechless. It wasn't a normal bow that he usually saw his brother giving his father, this bow was one Sasuke had never seen his brother do. Itachi had dropped to the ground on both his knees and bowed his head until his lips were centimeters above the ground. Immediately the rest of the crowd followed along, Sasuke reluctantly bowed as well. However, Sasuke noticed that no one had bowed lower than Itachi.

When they all raised their heads Sasuke turned to his cousin.

"Why did Itachi bow like that?" Sasuke whispered.

"Are you an idiot?" Gaara said in amazement, "He bowed like that because he's showing the ultimate sign of respect to the future mother of his children. Haven’t you ever gone to a betrothal before? Your family must get invited to like a billion of them!"

Sasuke’s heart dropped. He should've never asked. He glanced back at his brother who was looking at Naruto as if Naruto was the sun it self, like he was his whole world. Sasuke felt a pinprick of a tear at the corner of his eye but he refused to let it fall. Itachi had promised-nothing would change.

Minato grabbed his son’s hand. "Let's move this party inside shall we, we have much to discuss."

Sasuke’s fathers nodded in approval and everyone shuffled into the grand Uchiha palace, eager to be in the Uzumaki’s warm presence.

* * *

 

Sasuke couldn't take his eyes off of Naruto and neither could anyone else. They were seated around the dinning table. All the guests had left a few hours ago and now it was just the Uchiha and Uzumaki family. The betrothal contract had been signed and everyone had celebrated, many of the guests had been reluctant to leave, they wanted to know more about the Uzumaki family and the strange country they had come from but Mikoto had convinced them to leave by reminding them that they'd get another chance to speak to the Uzumaki’s when the actual wedding took place. Now it was time for the two joining families to get to know each other better. Fugaku had ordered a grand feast in celebration of the betrothal contract being signed and now they were all seated, enjoying a dinner that Sasuke wanted very much to not be a part of.

Sasuke had thought that after the signing of the contract the Uzumaki’s would leave but no, they were still here making his life miserable. Sasuke glanced across the table where Itachi was seated next to Naruto. He wanted to take his fork and jam it through Naruto’s pretty blue eyes. He couldn't stand another second of having to look at Naruto’s face or the way his brother kept looking at Naruto. Sasuke understood why his brother kept looking at Naruto the way he was, Naruto was the definition of beautiful, his eyes froze you ever time he looked at you and his smile made you feel warm inside-but still, Sasuke hated it.

"How old are you again Naruto?" Mikoto asked curiously as she eyed the boys chubby cheeks and childish features. She had noticed how small he was when he had taken off his vinyl zori; he was even smaller than his sister who stood a whole head taller than him.

"Ah," Naruto froze. His blue eyes widened as if he didn't know how to reply. He looked down at his hands as he tried to think.

_"She asked how old you are."_ Itachi translated into Naruto’s language. Sasuke fumed. He had no idea what his brother just said but he assumed it was a translation of what his mother had said. His brother really had been studying Naruto’s language. For some reason it irked Sasuke.

"Oh," Naruto smiled then thanked Itachi by bowing, his plump-scarred cheeks colored to a rosy red. "I'm ten." Naruto answered with a thick accent. His accent was more prominent than his sisters. Sasuke attributed it to Karin being older.

"Oh, that's lovely, you're only a year older than my Sasuke." Mikoto gushed. "Maybe you two can be good friends!"

‘Yeah in your dreams, mom, I'd rather die than be friends with him.’ Sasuke thought bitterly. His mother was stupid if she thought he'd ever be friends with Naruto. That was like asking him to befriend someone from the Haruno clan, they were mortal enemies, it was never going to happen.

Naruto blushed then inclined his head towards Itachi. Itachi chuckled; he instantly understood what Naruto wanted. He translated what his mother had said with a smile. Sasuke frowned as he watched the interaction between his brother and the annoying blond. He had noticed two things about Naruto, one, Naruto hadn't looked his brother in the eyes once since he had been here, and two, Naruto blushed ridiculously easily. It sickened him. He knew Naruto was a submissive but he had never actually met someone who acted so...submissive before. Even his mother occasionally acted borderline dominant. He had learned from his sensei that submissives only displayed dominant tendencies when they bore children or felt territorial but Sasuke didn't care. He hated Naruto’s entire existence.

"I'd like that very much." Naruto replied cheerfully. He locked his blue eyes directly on Sasuke’s black ones, “I’d like to be friends with everyone Itachi-san holds dear." Naruto smiled until his eyes formed identical twin crescents. His heavy accent made his words sound like a six-year-old child speaking.

Sasuke didn't know why but he blushed. Naruto was just too much. Was it an act? There was no way anyone could be this sweet and cheerful. It was borderline idiotic! But a small part of Sasuke liked it. Naruto was like a child and something foreign inside of him was telling him to take care of Naruto. Protect him, and make sure he's safe. That was the feeling he kept getting. But he didn't know why he got that feeling because he hated Naruto!

"That's lovely, Sasuke is such a mischievous boy he could use another big brother around here!" Mikoto gushed.

"I'll be ten next month mom. And besides, I don't need another older brother, one is enough." Sasuke growled. He was trying to remain calm but he knew he had failed when he saw the warning look to ‘behave himself’ in his mother’s eyes.

The atmosphere quickly turned tense. Naruto looked back and forth between Sasuke and his mother unaware of what was happening.

Sensing the silent tension, Kushina decided to change the topic. "I was told by an old friend of mine that when a royal Uchiha is born a bell could be heard ringing for hours, is this true?" She clasped her hands delightfully as she glanced expectantly at Mikoto.

"Ah, yes! It's true." Mikoto dragged her eyes away from her son and looked at Kushina cheerfully. "The bell rings for twelve straight hours to signify every single month of the year. This only happens if the Uchiha is a royal male, if it's a female then the bell rings for nine hours to signify the nine months of pregnancy she will have to endure in the future for the sake of the clan."

"What if the male turns out to be a submissive or if the girl is a dominant?" Karin interjected suddenly. Her demeanor was demanding, like the dominant that she was, she didn't hide the fact that she had just been offended.

"This custom is centuries old, no one thought of such things back then, my dear, but you're right!" Mikoto laughed. "But to be honest, if a royal male Uchiha turns out to be a submissive he's forbidden to ever bear children and if it's a female and if she turns out to be dominant then she's obligated to bear children for our clan."

"What a sickening custom." Karin snarled. Her crimson eyes seemed to turn into a bloody red color as she slowly rose from her seat.

"Karin, enough!" Minato commanded. It was like he had said this exact sentence thousands of times before. Karin growled. She said something heatedly to her father in her mother language. They exchanged a few more foreign heated words before finally Karin grudgingly sat back down.

"I apologize for my rude outburst, I will reflect on my actions, please look kindly upon me for I am only learning and growing." Karin said in a bitter tone. Her apology was very obviously forced.

Sasuke watched the exchange in amazement. He had never seen a girl act like this before, mainly because dominant females were all but mythical in the Uchiha clan, most were forced to be submissive while others hid away their true status in fear of being ostracized. But seeing Karin mouth off to her dominant father the way she was, then totally be unapologetic about it afterwards... Sasuke only had one thought; dominant females were a sight to behold. Terrifying was probably the best word to describe it, he didn't know how Karin and Naruto were related when she was so ferocious and Naruto was so timid. Sasuke quickly glanced at Naruto to see his reaction and was surprised to see that there was a ghost of a smile flirting across his plump lips. Had Naruto understood what his mother had just said? Or was Naruto just amused by Karin's behavior? Once again he found him self wondering if Naruto was just putting on an act. Sasuke vowed to himself that by the end of the night he would find out if Naruto was acting or not.

"It's fine, my dear, you're just lucky you were speaking to me and not my husband." Mikoto laughed. No one else joined her, it was clear that it was a warning.

"Either way, the bell ringing is a delightful custom," the red head queen clasped her hands as she smiled brightly. Sasuke was beginning to understand that Kushina didn't like confrontation or was it that she was just above it and didn't pay it any mind. The longer Sasuke observed the Uzumaki’s the more interesting he found them. They were all so different than what he was used to.

"Yes, it is." Mikoto smiled back. "If Naru-chan fulfills our wishes and gives our son an heir then we will also ring the bells for his child as well!"

Sasuke’s mood instantly soured. Why did his mother have to remind him of that! He didn't want to think about that-ever! Just when he was starting to calm down he was back to being angry again.

"Please, lets not speak of children bearing so soon, I don't want to think of such a thing when my little princess is still only a child." Minato interjected with a grimace.

Sasuke could've kissed the man. It was like he had read his thoughts.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Mikoto bowed apologetically, "you're right, I got too excited and forgot that Naru-chan is only ten," Mikoto smiled sadly, "I just can't wait for my Itachi to finally be a father." Mikoto confessed weakly. She smiled wistfully at her son. Mikoto had grown tired of seeing her husband reject marriage bid after marriage bid after marriage bid. Finally her son was going to be able to have a happy family of his own. 

"It's fine, my husband is a bit sensitive over all of this, he's especially close to Naruto and dotes on him, so I hope you understand how hard all of this is for him." Kushina confessed as well.

"Enough with this," Fugaku suddenly bellowed. From the look in his eyes Sasuke could tell his father was annoyed. "Let us retire for the night, I'm sure you're exhausted from your journey lord Uzumaki, let's continue this conversation when the sun is new and we have fresh minds to think properly."

"Very, well." Minato agreed.

After that a maid came and cleared the table and a butler escorted the Uzumaki family to their rooms.

* * *

 

Later on that night Sasuke couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned with thoughts that were centered solely on Naruto. It annoyed him greatly that he couldn't get the blond bimbo out of his head. He decided that the only way he'd be able to calm his restless mind was to go to the source of his problems directly and confront him. Now, Sasuke knew sneaking out of his bedroom this late into the night was a very, very naughty and dumb thing to do. If any of the maids or butlers saw him they could report him to his parents who would immediately hand him some form of punishment-but it was worth it. So with a quick prayer to Kaguya, Sasuke sneaked out of his room and tiptoed into the hallway. He didn't really know where Naruto was staying at, there were so many rooms in the palace that there were many that Sasuke had never been inside of, but he was fiercely determined to find the blond idiot, so Sasuke set his negativity aside and began his search.

He first checked the north wing. That's where most of the maid’s chambers were, that was also where his favorite garden was at, the one he had destroyed in his hour of anger a few weeks ago. When he found nothing in the north wing, Sasuke checked the east wing. The east wing was mostly tearooms but these tea rooms were the extravagant ones where his mother entertained her friends on Friday nights and where his father brought his buddies and courtesans to so they could drink soju and laugh together. Sasuke usually wasn't allowed in them unless he was with Itachi. After checking all of the tearooms Sasuke made his way to the south wing. The south wing was different than every other part of the palace because it was where the kitchen and dining room was located. Most of the rooms around the south wing were used for food storage and other boring things that Sasuke had never bothered to wonder about. It took Sasuke a very long time to check every room in the south wing. It seemed these rooms were bigger than all the others he had checked so far; Sasuke blamed it on all the furniture and appliances that he had to check behind. There were so many and the rooms were so endless that by the time he was done checking all the rooms Sasuke was exhausted. He had never stayed up this late before. He still had the east wing to check which he really didn't want too but Sasuke forced him self to, he had already come this far and he wasn't going to give up now when he only had one section of the palace to check left. He started in one of his mother’s upstairs powder rooms. There were gold mirrors and satin everywhere, his mother liked to get ready here. She had silk cushions all along the floor so she could lay wherever her heart desired and a silver bathtub so she could bathe before she got ready. The multitude of pillows called to Sasuke, they looked so plump and inviting that Sasuke just wanted to lay his head upon one and close his eyes and go to sleep. He slapped his cheek and continued his search. He could sleep later; right now he had to find that blond idiot! There were jewels scattered across one of the golden vanity tops. Sasuke shook his head in disbelief; did his mother really just leave priceless items like this out in the open all the time? As Sasuke walked deeper into the room the red billowy curtains at the end of the stuffy room caught his attention. As far as he knew all of the palaces windows were supposed to be shut by the time his father retired to bed. It was an unspoken rule. So then why was this particular window open? Sasuke’s heart hammered in his chest as he tiptoed closer. What if the widow was open not because of Naruto but because of some thief that had snuck in? What if Sasuke pulled back the curtain and a robber was waiting there and snatched him away? He was a prince; a robber could probably get a pretty hefty ransom out of him. Sasuke pushed his fear aside; he couldn't think weakly like that, he wasn't a submissive! He took a deep breath then pulled the curtain back. There was no one. He looked around as the moonlight shone through. The summer night air felt good on his cheeks. He wished it could be this cool in the daytime as well. As Sasuke basked in the summer night wind the sound of water splashing caught his interest. He immediately looked down to locate where the splash had come from. He held his breath as he located exactly what had made the noise.

Down in the pond Naruto and Karin were splashing around. Naruto's bright blond hair and Karin's head of fiery red hair were easy to identify. Sasuke crouched down and hid himself so he wouldn't be seen. What were they doing outside this late at night? Sasuke was burning with curiosity. Before Sasuke realized what was happening he found himself outside, crouched behind a bush, spying on Naruto and Karin. He watched Karin lay on her back as she floated in the pond, her short red hair pooled around her like a floating halo. Just as he had thought, she was muscular. He looked over to Naruto and immediately looked away. Naruto was dressed in a simple white juban, as he stood up from the water the delicate material had clung to his body, thankfully Naruto’s long hair had covered anything that Sasuke shouldn't have seen. Since Naruto was Itachi’s bride he wasn't allowed to see any part of Naruto that his brother hadn't allowed him to see. Even though he hated Naruto, tradition was still tradition. Sasuke’s heart was beating so fast he felt like he was going to throw up. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea; he should just go back to bed and confront the blond annoyance tomorrow when Naruto was fully dressed. Sasuke began to rise so he could scurry back to bed but then Naruto suddenly screamed. Sasuke whipped his head around, that feeling that told him to protect Naruto was back again. It felt like an instinct and once again it baffled Sasuke. He looked over to where Naruto was and saw Naruto on his butt sitting in the water and Karin looking over him with a wicked grin on her face.

_"I said go find me something to eat."_ Karin hissed down at her baby brother. Her crimson eyes were that same color of watery red like they were at the dining table earlier that night when she had gotten angry.

_"B-but it's late, you said if we got caught we'd get in trouble, I didn't even want to swim with you!" Naruto blubbered._

_"I don't care, I said I'm hungry so go get me something to eat before I lose my patience!"_ Karin crouched down and pulled Naruto up by the chest fabric of his juban. _"Or do I have to repeat my self?"_

Sasuke had no idea what Karin or what Naruto was saying since they were speaking their mother language but by their body language Sasuke knew without a shadow of a doubt that Karin was bullying her baby brother. Was this the reason Naruto had smiled at dinner earlier when Karin had been scolded by her father? Did Naruto and Karin not get along? Yes, it was clear that they didn't as he watched Karin terrorize her brother.

Karin held Naruto up high, his little feet dangled in the air. Her muscles strained in the silver moonlight as she held Naruto up higher and then threw him into the water. Naruto cried out in pain and tried to scurry away from his sister but she grabbed his leg and dragged him back.

_"Don't act like such a damn princess! You're a boy aren't you! Fight back! Daddies not here to protect you!"_ Karin hissed. She grabbed Naruto by his long hair and dragged him down into the water and then back up. _"If you don't do as I say I'll drown you!"_

_"No, please, stop I can't breathe!"_ Naruto cried. There were tears rolling down his red cheeks, and he looked like he'd pass out at any second. Sasuke knew he should've loved this. How many times had he said he hated Naruto? How much had he wished to harm Naruto himself? But this…seeing it with own eyes, Sasuke realized he didn't want that at all. That feeling was ringing in his ears now; it rang over and over again, urging him to go protect Naruto. Sasuke didn't know what to do. There was an intense desire inside him that wanted nothing more than to protect Naruto but there was also the mental rational part that was telling him that it was impossible. Karin was much stronger than him. She was the embodiment of strength as she flung her brother around. How could Sasuke beat a beast like her? A light bulb went off in Sasuke’s head. There was one way he could beat Karin but it all depended on how gullible Karin was and if he could tell a lie with a straight face.

He stepped out from behind the bush and revealed himself. He cleared his throat loudly and waited for Karin to notice his presence.

"Oh, if it isn't the baby prince.” Karin sneered, "what are you doing out of bed this late at night? Did someone have a nightmare?" Karin teased.

Sasuke refused to react. He had to play this right if he was going to win.

"No, I heard some yelling so I came to see what all the fuss was, I didn't expect it to be you."

"Well, surprise," Karin laughed then suddenly turned serious, "now that you know it's us, scram! As you can see I'm busy." Karin pulled harder on Naruto’s hair, which made Naruto whine loudly. Sasuke refused to look at Naruto. He told himself it was because he had no permission to look at Naruto in his current state of dress without his brothers permission but he knew it was actually because he couldn't stand seeing Naruto in so much pain. He took a steady breath and took a step closer.

"Yes, I see that but I must ask you to break up this little party." Sasuke reminded himself to be confident, that was the only way his plan would work.

"And why would I ever do that?" Karin pulled Naruto’s head up so that she could press her cheek against her brothers. "Me and Naru-chan are having lots of fun out here!"

"Well, if you insist but don't say I didn't warn you, the leeches in the pond are poisonous so if you both die don't blame me." Sasuke tsked then slowly began to walk away. Just as he had hoped he heard Karin scream then hop out of the water.

"Leeches!" Karin yelled. She looked frantically all over her body then ran into the palace like a monstrous animal was chasing her. Sasuke laughed. He couldn't believe that had actually worked. He knew Karin would runaway and abandon her brother because she clearly didn't care about his well being and he knew Naruto wouldn't run way because he wouldn't understand a word he said. Sasuke felt like a mastermind. He had never had a plan actually work out that well. His celebratory mood faded away when he saw Naruto wobble out of the pond. He quickly averted his eyes and looked down. Naruto's juban was wet and white and thus completely see through. But even as Sasuke looked down he could still see Naruto’s chubby thighs and legs as his juban clung to them. He blushed and silently took off his silk night robe and wordlessly handed it to Naruto who thankfully took it and covered his wet body with it.

"Thank you, Sasuke-san." Naruto said in a teary voice. His accent was even heavier than it was at dinner but Sasuke could still decipher what Naruto had said.

"You shouldn't let her pick on you like that." Sasuke replied back. He didn't know why he felt so awkward but he did. He hated Naruto but he also found Naruto somewhat precious. He was so innocent. Sasuke found it endearing. He looked up and admired how Naruto’s golden wet hair looked in the moonlight. It was long but not as long as Kushina’s. It lay to the middle of his arms and was silky straight. Sasuke had the urge to run his fingers through it just to see if it felt like the spun gold that it resembled.

"Please, don't tell Itachi-san." Naruto said shakily. His shoulders trembled as a chilly gust of wind passed by. "I don't want Itachi-san to know."

Just like that the spell was broken. Sasuke felt the anger reignite in his stomach. Just the mention of his brother’s name coming from Naruto’s lips irritated him. He wanted to push Naruto back into the water and let him drown but that annoying feeling wouldn't let him. So instead he decided to verbally hurt Naruto.

"Don't talk about my brother in front of me! You understand! He's my brother! He will never love you how he loves me! You will never be my family! You’re so annoying! I hate you! Just go back to your country already!" Sasuke hissed then walked away. He didn't know if Naruto understood anything he had said but he didn't care, he set out earlier that night with one mission and that was to tell Naruto how he felt and now that he had achieved that he was going to bed. As Sasuke stomped angrily up the stairs to his bedroom he felt like the worst person in the entire world. This night had been a total bust; he should've just stayed in bed and slept the night away. Now he was feeling guilty and more confused than ever.

At least Sasuke was certain about one thing, Naruto’s kindness was 100% genuine and that killed him.

* * *

 

The following morning Sasuke didn't want to get out of bed. He felt like dying. He didn't want to deal with Naruto or any of the emotions that came along with dealing with Naruto. He felt horrible about what had happened last night but he couldn't tell anyone about it because he wasn't supposed to be out that late at night and especially not out with his brother’s future bride, so, sadly Sasuke had to suffer in silence.

After he had been dressed by a maid, eaten a quick breakfast, prayed at the shrine, and suffered through a lesson with his perverted sensei, Sasuke had been escorted to one of the many tearooms in the palace. He had a inkling about why he had been summoned there but he didn't want to dwell on it so with a brave face he silently followed the butler to the tearoom.

The moment he walked into the tearoom Sasuke’s suspicions were confirmed. His father, mother, and brother were all seated inside. The sight of all three of them looking at him made Sasuke nervous. He quickened his step and took a seat next to his brother as he always did.

"No, sweetie, that's where Naru-chan will be sitting, come have a seat next to mommy." Mikoto patted the empty satin cushion next to her. Sasuke frowned but did as he was told. If this had happened yesterday Sasuke would've been furious over the fact that Naruto was literally taking his place next to Itachi-but after last night Sasuke just wanted to not think about anything. He got up and silently took a seat next to his mother.

"You need to stop babying him like that, Mikoto. He's a man! Not a child, you sound just as bad a that Uzumaki-calling his son a princess!"

"Oh, but darling, Sasuke is my baby, I only have one more month to call him that before he turns on me so let me have this fun before it ends." Mikoto had no intention of listening to her husband. She knew her husband well and knew he was only complaining because he was frustrated about being kept waiting.

"Where are they? I told them to meet us in the tearoom at exactly one in the afternoon." Fugaku growled. He was a man of very little patience. "It’s nearly fifteen after!"

Sasuke ignored his parents and looked around the room. He had been in this tearoom before; it was a year ago in the winter when Itachi had brought him here so they could eat cherry dango while they slurped on tea. This was Itachi’s favorite tearoom. He remembered because the walls were a pitch black instead of red. There was also no portrait of their father hung in here, only an Uchiha flag along with other painted works of art.

Compared to some of the tea rooms Sasuke had searched through yesterday this one was less extravagant, he knew without a doubt that Itachi had chosen this location to meet. That's what Sasuke loved about his brother, Itachi was simple and loving. He didn't like to flaunt his wealth or knowledge. He was silent about everything. Even the outfit his brother was wearing right now was underwhelming; a simple black hakama and matching black haori. His brothers long black hair was tied in its signature low ponytail and his eyes were closed as he waited patiently. Sasuke loved everything about his brother. He was the polar opposite of their father. Sasuke often thought that his father was blessed to have a son like Itachi, he had told his perverted sensei once that his father didn't deserve a son like Itachi but his sensei had made him promise to never say it ever again. Sasuke had promised but he still often times thought it.

The black door suddenly slid open and Sasuke’s thoughts scattered. He looked up but then immediately looked back down as he saw the familiar faces of the Uzumaki family. He wasn't ready to face Naruto just yet.

"We were starting to think you got lost." Mikoto joked cheerfully as she bowed in greeting.

"Ah, forgive us we had a little incident." Kushina apologized as she glared at her stone-faced daughter then sat down. Her husband sat on the other end of the table across from Fugaku. Naruto slid into the empty cushion beside Itachi and Karin sat next to Sasuke. Sasuke involuntarily shivered as he recalled the events of last night. The way Karin's muscle glistened in the moonlight as she lifted Naruto up was a sight he'd never forget. Sasuke shuddered; Karin was too strong for her own good. 

"Well, I'm happy it's settled, Itachi was eager to see Naruto." Mikoto chorused as she snapped her fingers at a maid who quickly filled her empty teacup.

Sasuke reluctantly glanced up, he couldn't help it, there was that urge ringing inside of him again, he had to look at Naruto, just to see if he was okay. He was stunned by how beautiful Naruto looked.

Naruto was dressed in a black silk komon kimono that had little white and grey koi fishes patterned all over it. The obi was a deep red and was tied around with a golden yellow threaded rope and the juban collar underneath was starch white. This time, Naruto’s long hair was all completely swept up into a high ponytail that fell loosely down his back, a single jade hairpin that had a black flower diamond in the center of it held his bangs back. Naruto was simply adorable.

"Naruto was also eager to see you Itachi, he heard black was your favorite color so he requested to wear black today just for you." Kushina explained for her son. Naruto's cheeks blazed red as everyone's eyes suddenly landed on him. Sasuke didn't know why but he felt jealous but not over his brother but over Naruto? He had been the one to save Naruto last night so shouldn't have Naruto wore his favorite color as a thanks instead and not Itachi’s? Sasuke pouted, then again he had said all those horrible things to Naruto. Naruto didn’t owe him anything…

_"You look beautiful.”_ Itachi said quietly to Naruto who immediately blushed at the compliment. He kept his eyes lowered but bowed in thanks.

_"Thank you Itachi-san, I'll wear black everyday if it pleases you."_

Sasuke didn't know what the hell Naruto and Itachi were saying to each other but Naruto was blushing and his brother looked oddly pleased. He glanced at Kushina and saw an adoring smile on her face; Sasuke then glanced at Minato and had to take a second look. Minato was glaring at Itachi. Sasuke stifled a laugh, poor Minato. His "princess" was interacting with his future husband right before his eyes and he could do nothing about it.

_"You can wear any color you want, with eyes as blue as yours and hair as gold, anything you wear will be beautiful."_

This time when Itachi had finished speaking Naruto’s entire face had turned a deadly shade of red. Sasuke couldn't hold it back this time; whatever Itachi had said must've been too much for Naruto to handle. He laughed loudly.

"Sasuke mind your manners!" Mikoto commanded her son.

"Sorry," Sasuke grinned. He looked on and admired Naruto’s nervousness. It was disgustingly adorable. ‘Wait-adorable?’ Sasuke couldn't believe he had just called Naruto-the source of all his problems-adorable, again! Sasuke sighed. That was the second time today he had called Naruto adorable. He was only nine, why did he have so many conflicting emotions. He was too young to be dealing with all of them.

"Now that you've arrived perhaps we can talk about what's really important-the future." Fugaku spoke dryly, breaking up Itachi and Naruto’s little love fest.

"Yes, perhaps we should." Minato seconded, he smiled in relief as he saw Itachi back away from his baby.

"Very well then, I think it's obvious that Itachi and Naruto are a good match for each other, and I would love nothing more than for this wedding to happen already so we can be done with this all but-" Fugaku glanced pointedly at Naruto’s small form. Even dressed in his silk komon kimono, Naruto was still very much a child. "Naruto is much too young for marriage and the duties it entails, it saddens me greatly to say this because I didn't want my son to be twenty when he gave us an heir but I think it'll be in everyone's best interest if we wait five years so that Naruto can mature a bit more."

"Thank you." Minato sighed gratefully. He had come to the Uchiha clan thinking that Naruto would be a child bride, he was grateful that the Uchiha king had not forced his son into that at such a young age. It had been his greatest fear.

"But, darling! In five years Itachi will be twenty! You said-"

"I know what I said Mikoto!" Fugaku shouted back, cutting his wife off, "but look at that child and tell me honestly-do you think he's physically and mentally ready for marriage?"

Mikoto looked at Naruto’s chubby cheeks and large blue eyes; even while he just sat there he looked like a child. Mikoto wilted. Her red lips dragged down into a sad frown. "No." She replied weakly. "He's not ready."

"I am only giving you five years, lord Uzumaki, my wife greatly desires an heir, you can take your son back to Whirlpool Country for those five years but after they are up I will expect you to hand Naruto over without complaint. As per the deal of the contract during that time Naruto is to remain pure, if Naruto happens to change his mind due to some fleeting romance the contract will become void and you will be required by law to give the Uchiha clan Naruto as well as any future child he shall have. But of course I don't want that to happen since that would also mean you losing your son and war between our two clans." Fugaku explained stoically, it was as if he were taking about a prized racing horse and not about a little boy’s life and the future of two clans. 

"I completely understand." Minato said through clenched teeth. He had been against this marriage from the very beginning, the Uchiha clan were known as the dragons of the north but they were also known as snakes who'd slither underneath you and poison you in a blink of an eye by all who hated them. They were a clan that only cared about their own strength and Minato was certain that Fugaku had ulterior motives for this marriage. He had thought so ever since he had read the letter Fugaku had sent him where he had expressed his desire to join their two clans but only on the condition that Naruto marry Itachi. He was sure Fugaku was getting something out of this but he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was just yet. Minato should've never let Kushina talk him into this but Naruto had wanted it and that was the only thing that kept him from attacking the graying Uchiha king at this moment.

"Very well then, I believe we are done here."

"I believe we are."

After that Sasuke’s father had left. He was a man of very little patience and much less words. He had no time for goodbyes. 

"I guess we'll be leaving today." Kushina said sadly. Her silver kimono shined as she slowly stood up. "Mikoto, it was an honor to meet you." Kushina said somberly.

Mikoto rose up from her seated position and shuffled over so she could hug Kushina. "As well as you my dear new friend, I will never forget this red hair of yours."

Kushina laughed shyly. "Nor will I forget your humble hospitality. I will see you in five years time."

"Lord Uzumaki, it was a pleasure to meet you as well, please take good care of Naru-chan, he's precious to us." Minato sighed at this but nodded.

"Sasuke come say good bye!" Mikoto ordered.

Sasuke quickly scrambled up. He bowed to lord and lady Uzumaki and wished them a safe journey. He also reluctantly said goodbye to the she-beast, Karin, who gave him a viciously tight hug, which took the breath out of Sasuke’s lungs. She was trying to kill him, he was sure of it.

All that was left was for him to say goodbye to Naruto. Sasuke looked back over to the tea table where Naruto and Itachi were still seated silently talking to each other. Sasuke didn't have to understand what they were saying, it was clear that Itachi was trying to cheer Naruto up who was silently crying. He watched as Naruto sniffled, his bottom lip trembled slightly as he tried to hold back his tears. Itachi whispered something to Naruto then gently wiped his tears away. Itachi rubbed Naruto’s pink cheeks then brought Naruto’s hand up and laid a single kiss on it. It was too intimate for Sasuke to handle. He had never seen that look in his brother’s eyes before. It was like Naruto was actually his brothers possession and he owned all of Naruto’s entirety. Sasuke blushed. He didn't know his brother was capable of being so dominant.

"Okay, that's enough." Minato said quickly as he scooped Naruto up and away from Itachi’s hold. "We need to leave before the sun rises any higher."

"You're right, those carriages can get awfully humid." Mikoto said sadly. "I'll escort you guys down to the entrance."

 

As they walked Sasuke chose to stay behind and watch everyone. He mostly wanted to look at Naruto. The way his little tabi covered feet shuffled across the floor as he walked as close as he possibly could next to Itachi was adorable and also annoying. And the way Itachi hovered closely to Naruto as if he'd be ready to catch Naruto should he happen to fall was also adorable and annoying.

They finally arrived at the palace entrance where the carriages were waiting. Sasuke was internally battling with himself if he should or shouldn't say goodbye to Naruto. If he did what would he say? And if he didn't, would Naruto think he hated him? His chance was quickly winding away. Either he'd tell Naruto bye or he wouldn't. At the end Sasuke’s conscience won out. He shyly tapped Naruto on the shoulder. He almost lost his nerve when Naruto turned around and looked at him with those big blue eyes of his but Sasuke told himself to be strong.

"I know you don't understand but I just wanted to say sorry about what happened yesterday, I didn't mean any of it. I was childish and jealous of you taking my brother away but now I'm trying to get over it. I should've never yelled at you." Sasuke bowed. He hoped someday that Naruto would he able to understand his apology. He rose and meekly met Naruto's gaze. Sasuke all but melted; Naruto was looking at him with the most heartwarming expression.

_“I forgive you, Sasuke-san, after what you did for me I will always forgive you."_ Naruto smiled warmly then tiptoed and gave Sasuke a hug. “You will grow into a worthy alpha, I hope whoever you choose knows how lucky they are to have you.”

Sasuke was frozen in place. Naruto's small body in his felt so...right. So warm, and pleasing, like he and just woken up from a long nap and was finally well rested. That instinct was now fluttering inside him like a millions butterflies trying to escape out of him. In that moment Sasuke swore he'd make Naruto his. No matter what he had to do _…Naruto would be his._


	2. Forgiven Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your kudos and comments! They mean a lot to me. Even the mean ones XD
> 
> I've added the definitions of some of the clothes in this fanfic just incase anyone is having trouble figuring out what things are!
> 
> tabi: traditional Japanese ankle length socks that have a split between the toe.  
> geta: tradiotnal Japanese sandals, they come in many versions. Their price goes up depending on what material they are made from.  
> haori: A coat that can be worn over a kimono or by itself. It can be worn as a formal shirt.  
> hakama: Loose trousers.
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains Sakura bashing. If you love her then this isn't the fanfic for you. :( Future chapters will also most likely contain bashing too.

_Five years later_

Sasuke hit the wooden plank with the back of his palm. The thick slab of wood shattered into a burst of flames as he sent a blast of fire through it.  


"A substitution jutsu? Come on, you're much better than that." Sasuke smirked. He stepped back and surveyed around the seemingly empty dojo. He closed his eyes and listened to the sounds all around him. A fly buzzing around, the steady autumn wind blowing through the wind chimes outside, a stray cat padding around the tall grassy bushes, the splashing sound of frogs jumping around in the pond...

  
_-Whoosh- _  
__

__Sasuke's eyes shot open. He put both his palms up and in the blink of an eye several small red flames ignited at the tip of each of his fingertips._ _

__"You're right, I am much better than that." His opponent appeared in front of him in a flurry of ravens. Sasuke quickly activated his sharingan. If his opponent finished materializing he'd activate his mangekyo and it'd be game over for Sasuke. He sent a blast of fire from his pointer finger at one of the ravens flying by his opponents head, the fire caused the bird to fly in the direction the fire had come from so it could attack its source and protect its master. It's master, who was still materializing, was shocked by this and looked to see where his bird had flown off._ _

__

__Sasuke quickly grabbed the bird and brought it up so that it was partially covering his face, his opponent's eyes followed and-fell right into Sasuke's trap. Sasuke's hand ignited into a burning ball of fire, effectively killing the raven. As the bird withered to ashes, Sasuke locked his eyes with his opponent who had been looking where the bird had just been. With out the barrier of the raven Sasuke could look into his opponents eyes. It was exactly what he had wanted to happen. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, trapping his opponent in a genjutsu. Sasuke smiled triumphantly, he had won._ _

__  
_ _

__"Very good, little brother." Sasuke's opponent, _Itachi Uchiha _hummed in approval as he easily broke Sasuke's genjutsu. "You used my own ravens against me, very tricky, it took you only a minute this time to trap me, father will be pleased to hear that you're improving."___ _

___  
_ _ _

___"Hah, that was more like fifty seconds!" Sasuke chuckled. His eyes bled back to black as he walked over to stand next to his brother. "It's been too easy lately, are you sick? Have you been taking it easy on me?" Sasuke prodded._ _ _

___ _

___Only four short weeks ago it had taken him a whole five minutes to trap his brother in a genjutsu now it was less than a minute, it was too good to be true. He trained everyday but rapid progress like this was just odd._ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"Sorry, I have a lot on my mind." Itachi ran his hand through his hair; his usual low ponytail was coming undone due the intense sparring he and Sasuke had partaken in earlier. He was only wearing a pair of loose training pants, his pale sweaty chest laid bare, displaying the smooth skin for all to see. "I've been thinking a lot. I can't concentrate." Itachi admitted._ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"About what?" Sasuke asked curiously. He was a bit frustrated that his recent improvement was due to Itachi not fighting at full potential and not because he was getting better. He had an intuition that that was the reason the whole time though so he'd get over it. "It's not like you to let outside concerns affect your fighting, it's strange."_ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"You're right, it usually does take a lot for something to distract me." Itachi sighed, "but this...it's...its…"_ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"Spit it out already, for Kaguya's sake, brother!" Sasuke yelled exasperatedly. He had never seen his brother so flustered. Whatever it was that had been bothering his brother must've been huge._ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"Its father," Itachi finally revealed. "He informed me last week that my betrothed will be arriving in a months time."_ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___Sasuke froze. A lump formed in his throat and his mouth went dry. _A month. _This was the last thing he expected to hear today when he had woken up this morning. He knew Naruto would be returning sometime this year since the five years time that his father had given the Uzumaki's was up but still-he hadn't expected Naruto to come so…soon. Sasuke's hands suddenly felt sweaty.___ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"Naruto...is coming?" Sasuke managed to get out from around the lump in his throat._ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___Itachi nodded his head yes. Sasuke's heart began to race. A month. For the past five years he had secretly thought of only Naruto. His love for the blond had grown stronger with each passing year. No one knew of his silent obsession so Itachi couldn't have known why Sasuke suddenly looked so nervous._ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"You look ill, brother." Itachi palmed his brother's forehead to check for a fever. "You don't feel hot-ah don't tell me-you're sick at the thought of Naruto coming aren't you?" Itachi laughed. The stress melted off of his face as he clasped his brother's shoulder in a friendly manner. "You were so young when he last came, you hadn't even gone through your change yet and you still hated him. I can still recall how I had to make you promise to be nice to him." Itachi's face suddenly turned serious, "but you're older now, would it be safe for me to assume that your childish dislike for my betrothed will stay a thing of the past?"_ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"Of course brother, I'll treat him as if he were my own betrothed."_ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"Ah, perhaps you should aim a little higher, the way you treat Sakura is a bit-"_ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"Of course, I meant it figuratively, Naruto isn't Sakura." Sasuke said the harsh truth through gritted teeth. "And Sakura is no longer my betrothed but my wife."_ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"Very well then..." Itachi smiled softly, "I just want Naruto to feel at home here, I want him to feel like we are all his family."_ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"Of course you do, I completely understand."_ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"Thank you little brother," Itachi looked off out to the open dojo doors and at the trees bristling in the wind, "I would never tell father this but I'm nervous, five years ago he told me that my marriage to Naruto was purely for the purpose of having an heir, he said it was strictly business and that I shouldn't invest any emotional bonds into it but...I fell in love...I'm in love with Naruto."_ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___Sasuke said nothing. He had suspected Itachi's true feelings ever since he saw the face his brother had made when he first laid eyes on Naruto. Like he was looking at the shining sun rising over the mountains. He loved his brother too much to say anything about his own true feelings. He had kept his love for Naruto a secret for so long that if he said something now it'd ruin everything._ _ _

___  
___

* * *

_____ _

___"Naruto-chan is coming." Mikoto Uchiha announced giddily. She was seated in a plush velvet chair, sipping her favorite mint tea from a silver china cup in one of her most favorite tearooms in the entire palace. Her long black hair fell loose over her thin shoulders and billowed about her face as a maid fanned her. She was wearing a simple red night slip with a black night robe over it. It was almost noon but Mikoto had never been a morning person, getting ready so early in the day was pointless and she took every opportunity she could to put off dressing into the multi layered kimonos that she was required to wear, especially when her husband was out of town. Her attire was plain but to a commoners eye she looked every bit the queen that she was. Her thin fingers were weighed down by a multitude of beautiful ruby and diamond rings and her neck was adorned with a golden necklace but even without all of the priceless jewelry, the three red dots on her forehead proclaimed her queen status loud and clear to all who looked upon her.  
___

___"Yes, I know, Itachi told me earlier this morning during our spar." Sasuke retorted passively. He trained his face into a neutral expression. It was taking every single ounce of his will power to remain calm. Itachi had just barely told him the news of Naruto's upcoming arrival when his mother had sent a maid for him with orders to meet her in the dragon tearoom in the east wing of the palace._ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___His mother's lips quirked into a scowl, Sasuke hated when she did that, it meant only one thing-a lecture was coming._ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"Sasuke," Mikoto began in a warning tone, "I know you've never been fond of Naruto but you're older now, I expect you to be nice to Naruto-chan this time around."_ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"Of course I will, mother." His mother had no idea how easy it'd be for him to be nice to Naruto. If anything Sasuke was worried about being too nice._ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"I didn't summon you here just to bark orders at you," Mikoto's eyes softened. She ran her hand through her sons black hair, a habit that she had had ever since Sasuke was a child. Her little boy was no longer a child; he was a man. His strong set jaw, his fine features that screamed Uchiha blood, and his dominating aura that he emitted just by sitting there looking at her, all pleased Mikoto immensely. He had turned into the strong dominant that she had always desired him to be; everything she had wished for her youngest son had come true except-_ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"When will you give me a grandchild? It's already been three years since you've married Sakura." Mikoto chastised. "I thought I'd be a grandmother by now, with Itachi's marriage being postponed I thought you'd give me a grandchild immediately after your marriage to Sakura since you knew how much I wanted one."_ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"I know mother it's just..." Sasuke scowled. What could he tell his mother? That he didn't love Sakura? That he couldn't stand her? That the mere sound of Sakura's voice alone made him want to tear her throat out…no; he couldn't say any of that. "It's hard, it just hasn't happened yet."_ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"Are you at least trying?" Mikoto demanded with out the tiniest bit of modesty. Submissives weren't supposed to ask about sexual intercourse so openly but Mikoto was not your typical submissive._ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"Of course I am." Sasuke lied. Though he knew his mother wouldn't buy it, nearly everyone knew of his dislike for his wife. Even the whores living in the dirtiest slums knew. Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno had a completely loveless marriage. Sakura Haruno hadn't even gained the 'Uchiha' last name yet, which could only be bestowed upon her by her husband when he felt she had earned to be an Uchiha. She was still a Haruno; it was a clear sign that her husband wasn't fond of her._ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"I'm not the only one who wants you to impregnate Sakura," Mikoto chided her youngest son, "Your father does as well. The treaty with the Haruno clan is still new and therefore sensitive, they only agreed to the peace treaty your father offered them under the conditions that you accepted a marriage bid from Sakura and that you impregnate her and name your child the heir to the Haruno clan. I don't want to sound like your father but it is your duty to look out for the well being of our clan and by not impregnating Sakura or giving her our last name you're failing at your duty."_ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"I know all of this mother!" Sasuke bellowed. He was exhausted of hearing his father constantly telling him to do his duty for the clan. He not only heard it from his father but from all of the council as well. They all sounded like parrots, saying the same thing over and over again and now his mother had joined them too. Sasuke had had enough. "But I don't want my first born child to be the future ruler of such a weak clan like the Harunos!" The truth of Sasuke's reluctance to impregnate Sakura finally came out._ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"Itachi's first born will become the future king of our clan. I'm sorry sweetie but since you are younger than Itachi your child will have no choice but to be the heir of his mothers clan and since its mother will be Sakura, it will be the Haruno clan that they rule over. I wish you could've picked your own wife but you know how your father is, he does everything for the sake of our clan. This is the lot you've drawn in life and you need to fulfill your princely duties. We all have to sacrifice sometimes, darling."_ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"But-"_ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"Enough Sasuke," Mikoto's lips hardened into a thin line. "I want Sakura pregnant by the time Naruto-chan arrives do I make myself clear?"_ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"Yes." Sasuke was weak to his mother's authority. No matter how dominant someone was they always carried a weak spot for only two submissives, their mothers and their lovers._ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"Good." Mikoto smiled sweetly, "don't look so gloomy darling, Sakura is a beautiful girl, she will give you beautiful children."_ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"But they'll be weak!" Sasuke yelled. His hands clenched into a fist. There was only one submissive strong enough to carry his children and that was Naruto! Sasuke wanted to scream this to his mother but he couldn't because Naruto belonged to Itachi._ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"That's fine, it's as you said they'll be ruling over the Haruno clan, one does not need to be strong to do that." Mikoto said calmly, her eyes dimmed as she looked upon her sons face. If there ever were a visual representation of a man drowning-it would be her son. He looked as if he was on the brink of suffocation and the only lifeline Mikoto could offer him was a sad smile. She picked up her golden chalice and drank the sweet wine inside of it. The tingling aftereffect of the wine instantly calmed her tremendous guilt._ _ _

___  
_ _ _

____Her son would just have to learn how to swim. ____ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___After Sasuke left the tearoom he decided to go back to his sleeping chambers. Maybe he could sleep a little and forget all about his mother. Yes, some sleep would be perfect Sasuke thought to him self. If he slept then hopefully Kaguya would bless him with dreams of Naruto. With this newly formulated plan in mind, Sasuke stalked out of his parents palace and mounted onto the black horse he had rode there that morning, he rode away to his own palace with the lull of sleep and Naruto's blue eyes on his mind._ _ _

__

_____ _

* * *

_____ _

Sakura Haruno paced around her room. Her waist length pink hair swung behind her as she turned.

  


"Where is that wretched midwife?" Sakura growled angrily to herself. She didn't have much time; she was doing this behind her husbands back. She jolted when a dull knock sounded at the door. She threw herself onto the bed and feigned a sleepy expression.

  


"Come in." She announced in a raspy voice.

  


The door slid open and in walked a hunchbacked elder woman.

  


"Finally!" Sakura snarled as she dropped her act. "You're ten minutes late! I should have your feet cut off for your tardiness!"

  


"I'm sorry princess, my feet are swollen, it's difficult for an old woman like me to move quickly." The woman explained fearfully.

  


"Shut up, I didn't ask for an excuse!" Sakura sat up and lifted her nightdress. "Now get over here and examine me before my husband gets back."

  


"Yes, princess." The old woman bowed then limped over to the bed to attend to her master's wife.

  


Sakura Haruno was one of the most coveted princesses in Fire Country simply because of her rare beauty. Her pink hair and jade green eyes were physical traits that screamed royalty. The day she was born everyone knew that she was too good to stay within the Haruno clan, she was born for more. She was raised with this mentality, and when she turned fourteen her father gave her the glorious news that their bid to marry into the Uchiha clan had been accepted. She had not only been accepted into the Uchiha clan but she had been promised to one of the most royal Uchiha's of them all, the young prince and second in line for the Uchiha throne, Sasuke Uchiha. Sure, her father had had to declare war just to get the Uchiha's to accept her marriage bid but Sakura didn't care. She had no interest about her clans rivalry with the Uchiha's or that her people would've been slaughtered if the war actually went through. It was her dream to become an Uchiha, and now she was one.

  


Sakura had been married to Sasuke for three glorious years. She was living a life of luxury. She had been a princess back in her clan so she was already accustomed to living the good life but the Uchiha's wealth was on a whole other level. The palace that her mother in-law had gifted her and Sasuke as a marriage present was so big it made her parents palace look like a commoner's hovel. A luxurious life wasn't the only good thing that Sakura had gained by becoming an Uchiha, she had also gained the highly coveted, Sasuke Uchiha.

  


The rivalry between the Haruno clan and the Uchiha clan meant that Sakura never got to see a single Uchiha in her life but she had managed to get a glimpse of the clan her family hated only once, at a mandatory ball thrown by the emperor. Sasuke had been at the ball along with all the other clans in fire country. His pale skin and midnight black eyes and hair had instantly attracted her. He was so different from all the dominants in her clan whom all had variations of dark pink and muddy brown hair. During the duration of the entire ball Sakura watched Sasuke and not once did he smile. It was instant love. She wanted nothing more than to make the sullen boy smile and now, as his betrothed, she'd be able to do just that.

  


Only one day into their marriage Sakura realized that her simple hope of making Sasuke smile would probably never come true. It had been obvious when Sakura walked down the aisle and Sasuke didn't even look at her that he had zero interest. It had surprised Sakura because she had had many suitors tell her that she was the most beautiful submissive in the whole world, she was like a sakura petal, delicate and lovely. But her beauty had failed to impress Sasuke. On their wedding night, Sakura had thought that Sasuke would be pleased to take her virginity but he hadn't cared a single bit. It had been three years now and Sasuke was still as impassive as ever, even when they made love Sasuke looked uninterested, he was rough and never looked her in the eyes. Sasuke wouldn't even grant her permission to have his name! But all of that would be a thing of the past because now she knew how to fix it; she was convinced that if she gave Sasuke a son he'd love her just like a husband should. It was a known truth that dominants held a special kind of love for the mother of their children and Sakura was going to get it.

  


Sakura sat amongst her canopy style bed. The open double window let in the chilly autumn air, it gently whirled her long pink hair around her pale face. She lay on her back; her head was propped up against a mountain of silk pillows. Her green eyes were intently focused on the small elderly woman below her who was quietly applying pressure to her bared stomach. The atmosphere was tense, as it always was during situations like these. The woman's hand moved up against her rib cage then back down to the area right below her belly button, where her womb was located. A green aura began to emit from the woman's hand, it grew brighter and brighter and brighter and then in a blink of an eye the light was gone. Sakura clasped her hands in a silent prayer when the elderly woman pulled her hand away. The next words the woman spoke could be life changing. She silently prayed to Kaguya to give her the answer she so desperately wanted, the answer she craved more than anything else in the world, the answer that would make Sasuke-kun love her.

  


"I'm sorry princess but you're not pregnant." The old woman announced anticlimactically, there was a tint of anger in her gravely voice. It was expected; she was, after all, an Uchiha. Just like everyone else in the clan, she had been hoping that the princess would finally add to the royal family by birthing a pure blooded baby.

  


"Oh." Was all Sakura could say. There was nothing else she could say that would properly sum up how disappointed she felt. She had been given this diagnosis so many times before that each time she heard it, it became less surprising. It was like she was numb to the words. Sakura had been trying to get pregnant for a whole year and every time it was the same-negative.

  


"Would you like me to inform his majesty?" The old woman questioned.

  


Sakura snapped her green eyes at the woman; she reached forward and forcibly pulled the woman closer. "If you so much as speak a word of this to him or anyone else I'll have your tongue cut out and your eyes gouged out, you got that?"

  


The old woman nodded fervently. Her frail frame shook in fear at the coldness of the princess's threat.

  


"I won't say a word, princess!"

  


"Good, now get out of my sight before my husband comes!" The old woman scrambled to her feet and ran out the door.

  


"Tormenting people again are we Sakura?" A deep voice chided from the doorway. Sasuke stepped out of the shadows he had been hiding in. He had come to his chambers to sleep. He had thought Sakura would be in her powder room, getting ready for the day but instead he had walked in to see Sakura grabbing a poor old woman by the neck. Sakura's violent behavior didn't even surprise Sasuke. She was submissive only in name. She liked to act delicate and pure but Sasuke had seen through her act a month into the marriage when she had assaulted a maid who had brushed her hair too roughly while attending to her.

  


"Sasuke-kun! I didn't know you were home! Your mother told me that you'd be out sparring with Itachi-san all morning." Sakura clambered off the bed so she could stand next to her husband. "If I had known you'd be back so soon I would've had that dumb midwife come earlier." Sakura pouted. The way her painted pink lips pouted out in an attempt to appear cute was excruciatingly fake, it disgusted him.

  


"We ended our match early, I beat my brother quicker than usual." Sasuke explained as he tried to stave off the irritation bubbling inside of him. He wanted Sakura out of his sleeping chambers so he could sleep.

  


"Oh, that's wonderful news!" Sakura jumped up and hugged her husband. She inhaled the intoxicating scent on Sasuke's neck. Just smelling it made her legs tremble. Every dominant gave off an aroma and Sasuke's was her absolute favorite.

  


"Get off of me!" Sasuke barked as he pried Sakura's arms off of him. He could smell her arousal and it was sickening.

  


"B-but Sasuke-kun, I just received some bad news, I'm not pregnant. I need you to console me!" Sakura cried.

  


"Stop your blubbering." Sasuke rolled his eyes at Sakura's over dramatic antics.

  


"Sasuke-kun! Did you forget the treaty conditions? You have to get me pregnant! Remember? It's been three years already!"

  


"Stop hollering." Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose. He was really, really, annoyed now. He was itching to rip Sakura's lips off so she could shut the hell up. 

"I am aware of the treaty conditions, I understand my duty." How could Sasuke forget when everybody kept reminding him!

  


"Then let's try right now! I can feel that tonight will be a lucky one!" Sakura snaked her arms around Sasuke's waist and pulled him against her body. She looked up into his eyes and smiled mischievously. "Come on, Sasuke-kun, I can see you're irritated, release all of you're irritation inside of me."

  


Sasuke hated Sakura but she had a point, he was frustrated and rough sex with her would make him forget about how unhappy he was. Plus, his mother had instructed him to get Sakura pregnant, at least this way he could tell her that he had tried.

  


Sasuke forced Sakura's hands off of him and picked her up. She laughed victoriously. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun! I knew you wouldn't be able to resist such a temping offer."

  


"Shut up." Sasuke growled as he dumped her on the bed and forced her onto her knees so that her face was buried in the pillows. He lifted up the thin fabric of her nightdress and pulled her panties down. "Just, shut up and don't say a word or else I'll stop." Sasuke murmured as he forced his un-lubed dick inside of Sakura's stretched out hole.

  


"Yes~" Sakura moaned in pain. Sasuke was never gentle with her but she didn't care. She craved Sasuke more than anything.

  


"I thought I told you not to speak!" Sasuke yelled. He groaned in pleasure as he grabbed a handful of Sakura's pink hair and yanked it harshly.

  


Sakura moaned and Sasuke closed his eyes, imagining a pretty blonde with scarred cheeks and blue eyes in Sakura's place. With every thrust Sasuke envisioned Naruto and when he came he imagined it was Naruto's sweet heat cocooning him that he was releasing into.

  


"You were so passionate, Sasuke-kun," Sakura gushed. "I can feel it happening already," Her thin arms hugged her naked stomach. She tightened her legs so that the cum inside of her wouldn't run out. "I'll get pregnant I just know it."

  


Sasuke tuned Sakura's ramblings out. He closed his eyes and fell asleep. Hours later when he awoke, he smiled happily. He had dreamed of his angel just like he had hoped he would. At least in his dreams he could be happy.

  


One week later Sakura found out she was pregnant. Everyone celebrated the glorious news, commoners and royalty alike sang songs of joy, and Sakura's parents even came all the way from their clan territory just to celebrate their daughter's pregnancy. It was a joyous occasion, everyone was happy…except Sasuke. He was a drowning man, now weighed down by anchors, surviving was becoming harder and harder and Sasuke really wanted to just give into the weight of the anchors and never resurface again but the thought of Naruto kept him going. In three weeks Naruto would be arriving and Sasuke would find a way to survive until then just so he could see his love again.

  


_One month later. ___

__  
_ _

__Fugaku Uchiha stood at the entryway of his palace. His family, along with other notable and reputable royals stood alongside him as they waited for the Uzumaki royal family to arrive. The king of the Uchiha clan scowled as another minute ticked by._ _

__  
_ _

__"They're late like always!" Fugaku hollered. It was bad enough that it was windy outside and now he had to wait out here in the cold like some freezing peasant. "They're a whole week late and even now when they said they'll be here today, they still manage to be late, unbelievable!"_ _

__  
_ _

__"Hush, darling. They'll be here any second. I just know it." Mikoto rubbed her husbands arm in a calming manner. "You've fought wars that lasted longer, you can wait this out."_ _

__  
_ _

__Fugaku said nothing but his hardened expression softened a fraction of a bit._ _

__  
_ _

__Sasuke paid his parents no mind. For the first time in a long time, nothing anyone said or did could irritate him because in a few moments, the love of his life, the person who had filled his dreams for the past five years, would come back into his life again. The wait had been a long one, and many times Sasuke felt like the weight of the anchors was too much and he'd drown, but miraculously he had made it._ _

__  
_ _

__Not even Sakura's vice like grip on his hand could sour Sasuke's jovial mood. Five years ago, when he had waited for Naruto just like this, he had been angry, jealous, and a child. He had been just like his father, yelling about how late the Uzumaki's were, but now Sasuke was brimming with happiness._ _

__  
_ _

__"Stop smiling like that, you're creeping me out!" Gaara leaned over and whispered to Sasuke who was smiling from ear to ear._ _

__  
_ _

__"Shut up!" Sasuke retorted, still smiling as he kept his eyes straight ahead on the road._ _

__  
_ _

__Gaara raised a nonexistent eyebrow and straightened back up. He had never seen Sasuke this happy before; it was suspicious. He decided to not dwell on it and trained his eyes ahead of him._ _

__  
_ _

__The rolling sound of wood hitting gravel caught everyone's attention. The next second three large white carriages rolled down the gravely road and then pulled up in front of them._ _

__  
_ _

__Sasuke noted the Uzumaki clan flags pinned to the carriages. Just seeing them sent a jolt of excitement through his body. He couldn't believe Naruto was actually seated inside one of the carriages. He wanted to run up to each carriage and throw each door open until he spotted the blond. Once he found him, Sasuke would carry Naruto and whisk him away into the forest where they could love each other and not have to be restricted by betrothals and marriages. It was a dream Sasuke loved to think about._ _

__  
_ _

__Sasuke held his breath when the two first carriage doors opened. He sighed in disappointment when a slew of guards, butlers, and maids clambered out._ _

__  
_ _

__Sasuke's excitement reignited when he realized that this meant that Naruto must be in the last carriage._ _

__  
_ _

__Two guards went up to the carriage door. Another guard pulled a horn latched to his belt out and blew it. The crowd fell silent. They all knew what that melody being blasted from the horn meant-the royal family was about to make their entrance._ _

__  
_ _

__Sasuke couldn't be more excited if he tried. He briefly wondered if his hands were sweaty enough for Sakura to notice but then decided that he didn't care, he had waited five years for this moment-not even his annoying wife could damper his mood._ _

__  
_ _

__Finally, the guards opened the carriage doors and out stepped the large figure of Karin Uzumaki. Just as Sasuke had thought, she had developed into a strong dominant. She was muscular but still petite. Her red hair was even shorter than last time, it was almost all completely gone from the back and all she had left was long bangs falling in her face. A crown still adorned her head but this one was much larger than the one she had been wearing five years ago. She was wearing a dark blue haori that had the Uzumaki clan symbol emblazoned on her back and her hakama were white._ _

__  
_ _

__Even as she stood there Sasuke could still recall that night long ago in the pond when her muscles had rippled in the moonlight. Her muscles had tripled since then. But so had his so she no longer scared him as she had once used to._ _

__  
_ _

__Kushina stepped out of the carriage next. Her long red hair was all tied up into a large braided bun. Her bun was encased in a golden hair comb. There were dozens of diamonds going around it and in the center of the hair comb, a single sapphire lay. It was the size of a peach pit; the mere size of it stunned Sasuke. The cost of the sapphire was probably something only a king's wife could afford. Kushina's kimono was a watery gray color and bound at the waist by a light blue obi. Her kimono had painted white cranes and blue wind patterns swirling at the bottom of it. As always, she looked like a walking piece of art. So extraordinary to behold that it was hard to think that she was real._ _

__  
_ _

__Everyone bowed as the Uzumaki clan's queen stood there smiling. She bowed slightly at the crowd. Her tight obi still disallowed her from bowing properly._ _

__  
_ _

__The carriage door was opened again. Sasuke held his breath, there was a high chance Naruto could come out next since his father was the king and therefore respectfully should come out last but then again Naruto was the betrothed and everyone knew that the betrothed wasn't allowed to come out until the very end when everyone else had come out._ _

__  
_ _

__The carriage door swung open and a head of blonde hair peaked out._ _

__  
_ _

___Naruto? _Sasuke thought hopefully.__ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___The blonde hair was immediately followed by a pair of wide shoulders._ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___No, not Naruto. Sasuke frowned but then quickly forced a respectful expression on his face as Minato Uzumaki, the king of the Uzumaki clan, stepped out of the carriage._ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"I want to thank you all for being here to accept our arrival." Minato announced. He oozed power by just standing there. Sasuke had once overheard his father telling a story to a general commander about how Minato Uzumaki was known as the yellow flash of the west due to his extraordinary ability to teleport. He was like a flash of lighting; once you saw him you never knew where he'd strike next._ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"It is a pleasure." Fugaku replied while smiling falsely. A blind man would've been able to see just how much real "pleasure" Fugaku had written all over his face. He had been kept waiting and he was not happy about it one bit._ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"We are all here for a special reason, the binding of two clans through marriage. I have brought you my son just as you ordered, in return I trust that you will treat him well."_ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"Of course, now let's get this over with and get inside. It's too cold for all this pointless talking."_ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___Minato's expression hardened at Fugaku's rudeness but nodded in approval. He opened the carriage door himself and stepped aside._ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"May I present to you, my son, Naruto Uzumaki."_ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___Naruto stepped out of the carriage and Sasuke all but lost his breath. For the second time in his life the sheer beauty of Naruto Uzumaki overwhelmed Sasuke Uchiha. The five years had definitely been kind on Naruto. For one, he no longer had the chubby cheeks of a child; they were thinned out but still had the slight blush to them and the three scars on each side that Sasuke loved. Naruto had grown a bit taller too. His big blue eyes, which never looked up from the ground, were outlined with a light purple shadow color and his long blond hair was half tied up into a bun. There was a single white lotus with hundreds of shimmering diamonds hung on silk strings pinned in the center of the bun and the diamonds sparkled as Naruto bowed in greeting. They were so mesmerizing; everything about Naruto was mesmerizing, even his kimono was beautiful. It was a blue, almost white color, the obi that bound Naruto's small waist was black and the tassel around it was gold. On Naruto's back the Uzumaki clan symbol was emblazoned, just like on Karin's haori. The sleeves of Naruto's kimono were long and hung heavily at his sides. Only those coming of age were allowed to wear kimonos with such long sleeves, the long length of the sleeves symbolized innocence. But it wasn't needed because the white collar of Naruto's under kimono was pure white, which meant purity. He was untouched. Seeing the white collar pleased Sasuke greatly. Naruto raised his head but kept his eyes on the ground, his scarred cheeks turned dark red. It was then that Sasuke realized what had happened. As he was ogling Naruto's beauty Itachi had walked up to Naruto and bowed lowly at his feet. It was the same bow he had done when he first met Naruto. Sasuke tried to not let it anger him. Itachi's extremely low bow signified respect for the one who would give him children in the future. Meaning, Itachi was thanking Naruto in advance for accepting his seed inside him._ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___Naruto's purity would be gone and the pure white color of his collar would turn into black. The mere thought of it angered Sasuke. When he was a child he had sworn to make Naruto his but as he matured and grew older he realized what that statement entailed, Naruto already belonged to Itachi, making Naruto's his would mean betraying the brother he loved. Sasuke tried to stave off his anger by reminding himself of this. It wasn't working though, thinking of Naruto's virginity being taken by anyone else but him was making Sasuke furious._ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"Oww, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelped in pain. "You're holding my hand too tightly!"_ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___Sasuke ignored his "wife" and continued to look at Itachi and Naruto. Itachi had risen off the ground and was now helping Naruto step down from the carriage. Sasuke was so angry that he actually wanted to hurt something. Preferably Sakura._ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___"Let's go inside, the winds are getting stronger." Itachi commented as he watched the luminous stringed diamonds hanging in Naruto's hair blow harshly in the wind. "I don't want my betrothed out in this kid of weather."_ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___Everyone found Itachi's concern for Naruto sweet, they eagerly followed Itachi and Naruto into the Uchiha palace._ _ _

___  
_ _ _

___Sasuke forced a smile on his face and followed along. He wanted nothing more than to snatch Naruto away but he'd have to wait, there was a time and place for everything and unfortunately right now was neither the time nor the place to fulfill his deepest wishes. Not when his dear brother was here to see everything. Sasuke would have a moment alone with Naruto the only question was when and would he be able to wait that long?_ _ _

___  
_ _ _

* * *

_____ _

"I'm thrilled with how beautiful Naru-chan is, he was beautiful as a child but now-he's stunning." Mikoto raved.

_____ _

  


_____ _

The royal families were all gathered in a spacious tearoom. The walls were red and had gold flecks splattered all over it. There was various hung weapons hanging on the walls that had been used in battle by Fugaku and other previous Uchiha kings. On the back wall there was a large scroll that depicted a portrait of Fugaku and underneath it the words the king of the dragons was printed. All of the royal families were sat around a long lacquer tea table. There was a marble fireplace burning up the cold in the room, which allowed many to discard their heavy coats. Mikoto was sat at the head of the table next to her husband. Minato and Kushina sat right next to her. The table was big enough for the parents of both the betrotheds to sit at its head.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Thank you, Naruto's beauty is due to Kushina." Minato said proudly. Even after all these years Minato's favoritism for his son was still apparent.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"His hair looks like spun gold," Yoshino Nara, the queen of the Nara clan, commented. Her brown eyes were ogling Naruto who hadn't said a word since he arrived.

_____ _

  


_____ _

Sasuke briefly wondered if Naruto still didn't understand their language. A small part of him hoped that Naruto hadn't learned it because over the years he had learned Naruto's intricate language. He had had to learn it secretly so he wouldn't draw any suspicion to himself but now he was itching to speak to Naruto to show him all that he had learned. Sasuke wanted to apologize to Naruto about all that had happened in the past, properly in his language so that Naruto could understand. He'd do it when he was finally able to have a moment alone with Naruto.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"It's such a vivid color, his royal blood must run strong." Hiashi Hyūga said stiffly. The jealousy practically oozed from his stern face.

_____ _

  
He glared at his daughter, Hinata. "I hadn't thought that there was anyone better suited for Itachi than my daughter but it seems I was mistaken, Naruto is exquisite, I wish I had gotten him for my own son."

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Yes, as do I father, Naruto's lovelier than any submissive I've ever come across. It would've pleased me to have him." Neji Hyūga, Hiashi's son and crowned heir of the Hyūga clan said in agreement. His white, pupil-less eyes roved over Naruto's body as if he were undressing him.

_____ _

  


_____ _

Neji's shameless interest in Naruto instantly set Sasuke's dominant inner beast into a silent rage. He was about to growl at Neji but then he abruptly heard a loud snarl come from across the table. Sasuke looked up, startled by the sound. It had been Itachi. His eyes were blood red and spinning madly as the three tomoe inside spun in a circular motion. Sasuke had never seen his brother act like this before, Itachi was calm about everything, he was a genius who didn't have to try much; even when they sparred Itachi always had a calm look on his face. So to see him now, ready to attack and with such a wild expression on his face, flabbergasted Sasuke.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"You will never have him." Itachi hissed.

_____ _

  


_____ _

Neji hissed back. His white eyes narrowed as veins appeared on his temples. "I never said I would touch him just that I wanted to, but who cares, I've been itching to fight you ever since you turned down my sisters marriage bid!"

_____ _

  


_____ _

The room fell silent as the two dominants rose to their feet. There were much stronger dominants in the tea room who could've put an end to Itachi and Neji's oncoming fight, Minato alone could've stopped them but it was well known that it was extremely rude to stop a dominant from fighting if they were battling in defense of their submissive. Neji had made a pass at Naruto and therefore Itachi had every right to rip Neji to shreds. No one moved; all of their eyes were glued on the two dominants. The fight would most likely leave one of the two heirs gravely wounded but they could do anything about it.

_____ _

  


_____ _

Naruto suddenly stood up. After looking at the ground all night long, Naruto finally raised his eyes. The guests gasped, his bright blue eyes were filled with tears. Sasuke wanted to get up and comfort Naruto but he couldn't. He sat and watched to see what Itachi would do. His brother looked far beyond the point of return, his eyes were spinning wildly and were boring dead straight into Neji's white eyes.

_____ _

  


_____ _

Naruto raised his hand, his long kimono sleeves swung back as he settled his hand on Itachi's upper arm.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Itachi-san. Please look at me." Naruto murmured, stunning everyone in the tearoom again. They had all thought that Naruto didn't know how to speak their language. Sasuke's hope that Naruto hadn't learned their language was obliterated. Naruto didn't even have a trace of an accent anymore.

_____ _

  


_____ _

The sound of Naruto's distressed voice calling out managed to get through Itachi's anger. His wild eyes snapped down to Naruto.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Please calm down, I don't want you to fight Neji-san." Naruto boldly looked up and then tiptoed. No one expected what came next; Naruto had placed a kiss on Itachi's cheek. The kiss proved to be the exact thing Itachi had needed to calm down, his eyes faded back to black and his usual calm expression returned.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"I only have eyes for Itachi-san so please don't mind what others say." Naruto said shyly.

_____ _

  


_____ _

Sasuke withheld the urge to growl. Naruto's love proclamation to Itachi cut deep. Did Naruto really love Itachi then? As the thought entered Sasuke's mind he suddenly saw Naruto's blue eyes look at him. He blinked to make sure he hadn't imagined it. He opened his eyes and was surprised to see that Naruto really was looking at him.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"I've loved you since I was a child, another dominants flattery is nothing to me but useless words." Naruto's eyes remained on Sasuke then flickered away quickly.

_____ _

  


_____ _

Sasuke glanced around to see if anyone else had seen what had just happened. No, everyone was still focused on Itachi and Neji. It was so peculiar, for a moment there it had actually felt like Naruto had been talking to him.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Your words please me." Itachi grabbed Naruto's hand a kissed it. "You're right, this is childish, but," Itachi turned back to Neji, "the next time you make a pass at my betrothed I'll give you the fight you've been 'itching' to have, Hyūga."

_____ _

  


_____ _

Neji growled in return but still sat back down. If he attacked Itachi right now he'd look bad, which would in turn make his clan look bad. He couldn't have such a thing happen when practically every royal family in fire country was here. The Hyūga name was a reputable one; he couldn't ruin it while all eyes were on him.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"I think this is the perfect time to separate this party," Mikoto glanced at her husband for approval, the Uchiha king nodded for his wife to go on, Mikoto cleared her throat then proceeded, "Itachi, take your betrothed and friends to the rose tearoom."

_____ _

  


_____ _

Sasuke raised his eyebrow at the word friends. The heirs of the royal clans were hardly considered friends; if anything they were acquaintances whose only common interest was that they were of noble birth. The only one in the whole lot who could've been considered a friend was Gaara and that was only because he was family.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Sasuke, you go too, and remember what we talked about." Mikoto's eyes hardened. "Take good care of Naruto-chan."

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Of course, mother." Sasuke bowed. She had no reason to worry; it was physically impossible for Sasuke to treat Naruto harshly like he had when he was a child. He wanted to kiss Naruto, not glare at him.

_____ _

  


_____ _

Itachi stood up. "Please follow me to the tearoom." Itachi took Naruto's hand and helped him stand up. "The rest of you please join me as well."

_____ _

  


_____ _

Shortly after the heirs and children of the kings and queens got up and followed Itachi out of the dragon tea room and down the hall to the rose one. Even Neji reluctantly followed the Uchiha heir, but only because he didn't want his sister to go alone but mostly because he wanted to see more of the pretty blonde submissive with the stunning blue eyes.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Hi, I'm Yukari Tamura, but you can call me ten-ten!" Ten-ten's hair was tied up into two large buns, there was white tassels coming out from the both of them, she wore a white kimono that was outlined in orange and had small mousy features. "It's so nice to meet you!"

_____ _

  


_____ _

Naruto bowed at the girl. "It's nice to meet you too ten-ten chan."

_____ _

  


_____ _

"I'm Kiba Inuzuka, you might have heard me. The Inuzuka clan has quite the reputation." Kiba was wearing a dark brown haori with matching hakama. His hair was spiky and short and he had two inverted red triangles tattooed on his tan cheeks. His features were plain but his confident grin made up for it tenfold.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"The only reputation you have is of being a dog." A blonde girl with icy blue eyes quipped. Her kimono was a deep purple color and she had an array of colorful flowers in her tied up hair. "I'm Ino Yamanaka, my father is the king of the Yamanaka clan, have you heard of it? I'm sure you have." Ino said pompously.

_____ _

  


_____ _

Naruto shook his head no. He blushed in embarrassment. Ino's confident expression turned sour.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Hah, your clan isn't as well known as you thought!" Kiba taunted.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Shut your mouth, dog-breath!"

_____ _

  


_____ _

"You should bow to a dominant of my quality you stupid submissive bitch!" Kiba roared.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"I'll only submit to dominants who are above me, you are clearly far below me." Ino's ice blue eyes looked up pointedly at Kiba's head of brown hair and then down to his unremarkable brown eyes. Kiba's face turned bright red in anger.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"You should learn to submit to every dominant you come across! That's your duty as a submissive!"

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Enough of this." Itachi announced sharply, "You're both scaring my betrothed."

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Sorry, Itachi-san." Kiba and Ino both apologized. Itachi was the highest dominant other than Fugaku and the emperor within Fire Country. The Uchiha clan was a clan that their parents had taught them to never anger or cross. If there was one clan you didn't want as an enemy it was the Uchiha's.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"We've met before but I don't know if you remember me, I'm Gaara, I'm Itachi and Sasuke's cousin as well as the heir to the Suna clan in Sand Country." Gaara said to break the tense atmosphere.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Oh, Gaara-san!" Naruto bowed, "I do remember you, I remember you because when I first saw you I thought you were a submissive like me but then later on that day I saw the half moon mark on your palm, I had never seen a dominant like you so I never forgot you." Naruto smiled brightly.  


_____ _

The room grew silent. Everyone knew how sensitive Gaara was about his short stature. Anything that had to do with Gaara's childhood disease was a subject no one was allowed to talk about.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"I had a disease as a child that stunted my growth," Gaara's teal eyes looked murderous, "I've been cursed with a small body that makes others think that I'm a submissive but-"Gaara smiled, the killer look in his eyes vanished as if it had never even been there, "I've gotten over it, I'm still an heir to a throne that many covet, an unsatisfactory appearance is the least of my worries."

_____ _

  


_____ _

The tension melted, everyone sighed in relief.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"I-I'm sorry about the disease, you still look like capable dominant." Naruto's eyes watered slightly.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Don't cry for me Naruto." Garra laughed, "I don't want such a pretty submissive to shed tears for me."

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Sorry." Naruto murmured as he wiped at the corner of his eyes.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"I must say that you're much more beautiful than when you came last time. I didn't think it was possible but you've somehow managed it. Your hair is so lovely, I'm sure my father would love it if I had it."

_____ _

  


_____ _

Naruto cherry cheeks bloomed to an even redder color than before.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"It's even lighter than Inos! Someone's finally beat you at your own game, there's someone in Fire Country with hair more beautiful than yours!"

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Shut up you stupid mutt!" Ino screeched. Jealousy was burning in her icy eyes as she glared at Naruto's mane of luscious blond hair.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Forgive me for asking if this is a dumb question but…why is my blond hair such an important issue?" Naruto asked, confusion was written all over his face. 

_____ _

"I've never gotten so many compliments on it as I have had here."

_____ _

  


_____ _

"In the north and south we believe that the lighter your hair is the more royal your blood is, that's why everyone keeps complementing you on it, your hair is the color of the sun. There is no brighter color." Gaara explained.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Oh," Naruto touched his hair, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "But Itachi-san and Sasuke-kun and the Hyūgas...their hair is as black as the night sky?"

_____ _

  


_____ _

Naruto glanced around the room. There were many royals in here that didn't have light hair-how were they royals then?

_____ _

  


_____ _

"There is an exception to this rule, any clan that posses ocular powers such as the Uchiha's or the Hyūga's don't need light hair to proclaim their royal status-their eyes do that for them. If you don't have light hair or ocular powers you can still be a royal but others will consider you to be a second rate royal."

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Oh." Naruto answered. He now understood the heated interaction between Kiba and Ino.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Your hair really is lovely, I can't wait to comb it for you, we'll be like sisters! Oh, I'm Sakura by the way, I'm Sasuke-kun's wife."

_____ _

  
Naruto's eyes widened. "You're Sasuke-kun's wife?"

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Yes-" Sakura smiled widely. "He will also be the father of my child in a few months!" Sakura's hand was resting against her stomach to show everyone that there was a baby growing inside of her. It wasn't necessary because everyone could smell the sweet change in her scent that meant she was with child.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Are you okay Naruto-kun? You look pale?" Ten-ten abruptly said.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"I'm fine, sorry!" Naruto said hurriedly.

_____ _

  


_____ _

Itachi palmed Naruto's cheeks to check for a fever. "You're not warm. Do you want to lie down, you must be tired from the long journey here." Itachi's smooth voice murmured so that only Naruto could hear.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"I'm fine, thank you for worrying Itachi-san." Naruto replied quietly.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"So, how are you liking it here Naruto-chan?" Ten-Ten asked. "Are things here completely different than in Whirlpool Country? I've never been there."

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Fire Country is very different than Whirlpool Country, I haven't been here long, even when I visited as a child I wasn't here longer than a few days, but yes, Fire Country is very different than my home." Naruto answered honestly. His blue eyes glanced at Sakura then looked away, "Very, very, different."

_____ _

  


_____ _

"How so?" A lazy eyed boy with spiky brown hair in a ponytail asked. The emblem on his shirt signified that he was from the Nara clan. He had been dozing off all afternoon long, it had begun to seem all the boy could do was eat and sleep. "I'm Shikamaru by the way, it's good to see you again, I was here last time as a boy when you came too, but I don't have unique features like Gaara-san so I doubt you remember me."

_____ _

  


_____ _

"I don't remember, I'm sorry." Naruto said sheepishly.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"It's fine, I didn't expect you to." Shikamaru replied unbothered. "So, what's so different here than in Fire Country?"

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Well, the language is different."  


_____ _

"Obviously, what else?" Sakura rolled her eyes. "Anything really surprise you yet?"

_____ _

  


_____ _

"The rules for submissives are very different here." Naruto admitted.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"How so?" Sakura prodded.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Less freedom." Naruto didn't look at the pink-haired submissive when he answered. No one noticed.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"How do submissives in Whirlpool have more freedom than us?" Sakura snapped. "You're being too vague!"

_____ _

  


_____ _

"It's just different. Everything is completely different." Naruto said flatly. He stared ahead, as if seeing right past Sakura.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"What do you mean!" Sakura yelled, angry by Naruto's inability to elaborate.

_____ _

  


_____ _

Itachi shot her a warning look. She gulped. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell, what I meant was how are submissive different than us?"

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Submissives in Whirlpool aren't even called submissives, we're called omegas and dominants are called alphas. Since clans in Whirlpool are descendants of animals we go by animal rules, submissives can live virtuous lives but only if their not claimed by an alpha." Naruto explained. His apprehension to fully look at Sakura was becoming more noticeable now. Sasuke found it strange, he had no idea what Naruto had against Sakura.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"That's so interesting!" Ten-ten marveled. "So you have mates and things like that?"  


_____ _

"Yes, our husbands are our mates and a wedding ceremony is called a mating."

_____ _

  


_____ _

"So that means you're my mate Sasuke-kun!" Sakura gushed.  


_____ _

"Actually, no you're not." Naruto said tightly, his eyes were finally focused on Sakura. "The only way you can call someone your mate is if you both have a mating mark on your neck, submissives who don't have the mark are considered unclaimed, in fact if you went to Whirlpool County as you are right now, pregnant and unmarked, people would think that you're a common whore who opened her legs for an unworthy alpha."

_____ _

  


_____ _

Sasuke snorted. The heirs laughed along at Sakura's shocked expression.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Well, we aren't in Whirlpool Country so it doesn't matter!" Sakura's green eyes narrowed. "Sasuke-kun is still mine and I am his."

_____ _

  


_____ _

"You're only 'his' because your father threatened war if he didn't accept your marriage bid!" Ino snipped.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"What does marking mean?" Ten-ten interrupted. She wasn't going to let Ino and Sakura get into another argument. The last time it had lasted a solid twenty minutes and she could still remember the headache it had induced.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"It's when a dominant bites your neck hard enough to leave a mark," Naruto blushed, "It tells all other dominants that you belong to someone."

_____ _

  


_____ _

"So, since you're still unmarked other men can still bed you, right?" Neji leered. "If you want I can show you a good time before Itachi marks you-"

_____ _

  


_____ _

Neji didn't even get to finish his sentence. Sasuke was on him before his next word could come out. Sasuke's body had moved on its own. He was so angry by Neji's crude words that he had punched Neji square in the jaw.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"B-brother, are you okay!" The usually silent white-eyed princes, Hinata Hyūga kneeled to the ground and propped her brother's head up on her knees. She hadn't spoken a word all night; it was easy to forget that she was even there.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"I'm fine." Neji spat. He got up from the ground and glared at the younger Uchiha. "You-"

_____ _

  


_____ _

"This is between me and you, Neji." Itachi stepped in-between his brother and Neji. "I told you the next time you made a pass at Naruto I'd give you the fight you've been itching to have."

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Fine, let's settle this like men." Neji glared, "I challenge you to a duel!"

_____ _

  


_____ _

"I accept." Itachi replied stoically. "I'll gladly give you the beating you've been wanting so badly."

_____ _

  


_____ _

The declaration of the duel soured the jovial party mood. For the rest of the evening the young royals sat in silence until it was time to go back home.

_____ _

_____ _

_____ _

* * *

_____ _

_____ _

_____ _

The next day, the Uchiha palace was busy teeming with preparations for the upcoming wedding. Preparing for such a large-scale wedding would take a solid month. During these days Sasuke rarely saw Naruto, the only times he'd see him were when he visited his parents palace for dinner. He had begun to look forward to these nights; they had begun to feel like the only good thing in his life. Being in his own home with a pregnant Sakura was tortuous, all of his annoyance faded away when he saw Naruto's beautiful face at the dinner table. It wasn't fair; he still hadn't gotten his chance to be alone with Naruto. As the days wore on Sasuke began to think that he'd never get his moment alone with Naruto. It had left him bitter and hopeless.

_____ _

  


_____ _

Sasuke's moment alone with Naruto finally came and it had come completely by coincidence. He had been walking around his parent's palace one cold afternoon. Earlier that morning Sakura had tried to lure him to bed with her. It had been the final straw in Sasuke's patience for the day so he had decided to go to his parents palace but the problem was that he didn't want his parents to know he was there so Sasuke had decided to go to his favorite childhood hiding spot, the north wing rose garden.

_____ _

  


_____ _

It was a set of completely unrelated events that had led him to the garden. So it was surprising when he arrived and the most unexpected sight greeted him. It was Naruto, lying amidst the flowers and looking up at the sky. Naruto's kimono was light yellow and his long hair was in its usual half bun hairstyle. This time there was a crystal daisy hairpin in the center of it and three strings of pearls dangling from it. He looked more dazzling than the bed of flowers he was lying in.

_____ _

  


_____ _

As Sasuke intently watched Naruto, he debated what to do. The love of his life was lying there all alone, this was the chance he had been praying and hoping for. But did he really want to go behind his brothers back by being alone with Naruto? Royal dominants and submissives, especially if they were unmarried, weren't allowed to be alone together. It was a taboo. Was Sasuke willing to go against both societal rules and his beloved brother just to spend some time alone with Naruto? Yes, yes he was. This was the chance he had been waiting for; he'd be a fool to waste it.

_____ _

  


_____ _

Sasuke took a deep breath. He was going to do this. With one last exhale he straightened up and walked up to the rose garden where Naruto was lying.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"You'll get your beautiful kimono dirty if you lay out here like that." Sasuke commented out loud so he could rouse Naruto's attention.

_____ _

  


_____ _

Naruto bolted upright. His wide blue eyes peered up to Sasuke's face. As soon as he recognized who had spoken a blush flared across his cheeks.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Ah, Sasuke-kun!" Naruto slowly stood up. It took a lot of effort due to the tight white obi around his waist and the high geta he had on his feet. Sasuke wanted to help Naruto up but he knew touching Naruto would either scare him off or anger him. Since Sasuke wasn't Itachi, any touch by a dominant that wasn't Naruto's betrothed could potentially set him off and that was the last thing Sasuke wanted. So instead Sasuke kept his hands to him self and watched as Naruto struggled to stand.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"It's nice to see you, Sasuke-kun." Naruto bowed as soon as he was on his own two feet. "It's rare, I don't think we've shared a moment alone since I've been here."

_____ _

  


_____ _

"No, I don't think we have." Sasuke said graciously, Naruto had no idea just how much he knew they hadn't 'shared a moment alone.' He had praying to Kaguya for one since the day Naruto arrived. "You're always with my brother so it wasn't possible for us to ever meet like this."

_____ _

  


_____ _

"You're right, Itachi-san loves to tote me around." Naruto laughed, it was a light and melodic sound. The beautiful sound was mesmerizing. Everything about 

_____ _

Naruto was mesmerizing, even the dangling pearls in Naruto's hair, the way they reflected the light when Naruto threw his head back to laugh was spellbinding. 

_____ _

"A moment alone is incredibly rare."

_____ _

  


_____ _

"You shouldn't ever be alone like this, you should have guards and your handmaiden with you at all times. If I had been another dominant without self control I could've easily had my way with you." Sasuke's words were hollow. He was distracted by everything that Naruto was. His mind was caught up in memorizing every single detail of Naruto's face. He hadn't physically been this close to Naruto since he was nine and Naruto had given him a goodbye kiss on the cheek. Seeing Naruto this close and all grown up was...too much. It was overwhelming how beautiful Naruto was. His eyelashes were as gold as his hair and Sasuke found himself wondering if the hairs above Naruto's most intimate parts were the same color of gold. Sasuke wanted to throw Naruto back down onto his back and lift the multiple layers of his kimono and part his legs just to see if they were the same.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"I'm happy Sasuke-kun cares so much about my safety but I was never in any real danger," Naruto smiled and then pointed up to the edge of the garden where a large group of apple trees was located. Sasuke looked up to where Naruto was pointing and saw a purple haired woman dressed in an all black combat suit crouched on a tree branch. Her amber eyes were focused intensely on Naruto and she was holding a kunai pointed directly at Sasuke's head in her hand. He hadn't even noticed her presence; she was good.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"My handmaiden Konan is also my guard. She never leaves my side." Naruto confessed somberly.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Oh, I see." Sasuke replied awkwardly. He suddenly wanted to take back all that he had said about how Naruto should have guards on him 24/7. Naruto looked so desperate for freedom and Sasuke desperately wanted to give it to him. What had Naruto's life been like for the past five years? Had he been sad like this the entire time?

_____ _

  


_____ _

"You look like a caged bird who wants nothing more than to fly." Sasuke observed. He panicked when he realized he said it out loud. "Not that I'm saying anything's wrong with that! I'm sorry, It's just-"

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Sasuke-kun, it's fine!" Naruto laughed, his eyes crinkled into two crescents as the giggles slipped from his pink lips. Sasuke's heart warmed up at the sight, Naruto still laughed the way he had when he was ten, carefree and full of mirth.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"I'm sorry." Sasuke repeated quietly.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Don't be sorry, you're right, I am a caged bird." Naruto's lips dropped into a frown. He looked up into the tree where Konan was still crouched in. "I'm not that weak, I wish my family realized that." Naruto sighed.

_____ _

  


_____ _

Sasuke didn't know what to say. How could he relieve Naruto of this burden? An idea suddenly popped up in his mind, it was risky but if it worked he'd get to spend much more time with Naruto.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"I could escort you around the palace until the wedding if you want, Konan won't be needed if I'm with you."

_____ _

  


_____ _

Naruto's cheeks turned red but he quickly shook his head no. "My parents would never allow it!"

_____ _

  


_____ _

"I see." Sasuke replied solemnly. He had really hoped that Naruto would agree but deep down he knew he wouldn't. Naruto was a royal unmarried submissive; he wasn't allowed to be alone with another dominant.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"But...I have an idea of my own." Naruto shyly looked down at his hands. "I-I'd like it if Sasuke-kun could train me, that way I could show my parents that I'm strong enough to be alone sometimes!"

_____ _

  


_____ _

Sasuke gaped. He hadn't been expecting Naruto to say that at all. Royal submissives training, sparring, learning combat techniques was unheard of. It wasn't necessary for them to learn because they'd be taken care of by their dominants and would never have to fight for anything in their life. A royal submissives only duty was to please their dominants and give them heirs-that was it. So hearing that Naruto wanted to be trained was surprising to say the least.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"You want me to train you?"

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Yes!" Naruto said excitedly.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"But-"

_____ _

  


_____ _

"I know it's unorthodox but I really want to learn. My whole life I've been treated like a doll, in the Uzumaki clan every royal submissive is born with a seal on his or her stomach. Because I was born with it, my parents knew I was a submissive before I turned ten and my sun mark appeared, I didn't get the luxury of living a carefree life until I turned ten like other submissives do. I want to train, it's not fair that Karin gets to wield a sword but I don't get anything except for guards who will fight for me."

_____ _

  


_____ _

Sasuke was moved by Naruto's speech. He hadn't known about the seal thing either. He didn't know how it felt to be treated like a submissive since he wasn't one but he could only imagine how hard it must've been for Naruto. What Naruto was asking was tremendous. If he agreed no one could know and even then they risked the chance of getting caught. But Naruto was the love of his life; his happiness meant more than anything to Sasuke. He was worth the risk.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Fine, I'll train you-"

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Thank you Sasuke-kun!" Naruto grinned from ear to ear. It was dazzling and momentarily made Sasuke forget what he was going to say next.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"If we do this it'll have to be kept a secret from everyone, not even my brother can know. Do you understand the risk we are taking?"

_____ _

  


_____ _

"I understand." Naruto's eyes twinkled.

_____ _

  


_____ _

Sasuke wasn't sure why but he got the feeling that Naruto was hiding something. He put his suspicion aside and decided to bask in Naruto's glory. The way he laughed was so child like it made Sasuke want to laugh along too.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"If I learn enough then maybe I can finally get rid of Konan!" Naruto said hopefully.

_____ _

  


_____ _

Sasuke flicked his eyes back up to the tree at the mention of the woman. She was still there. Konan was probably an excellent fighter but she had made one fatal mistake. By trying to hide herself from Naruto she had put too much distance between them. She could see Naruto perfectly but she couldn't hear a word he or Naruto said to each other. It was perfect, this way she wouldn't have a clue about anything.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Meet me here tonight after everyone falls asleep, make sure no one follows you and I'll give you your first lesson."

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Understood, Sasuke-kun." Naruto smiled and Sasuke swore the sun shone brighter because of it. "Ah, but won't your wife notice if you aren't there next to her at night?" Naruto's cheerful expression vanished. He sullenly looked down.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"If she does she knows not to question me."

_____ _

  


_____ _

"It sounds like Sasuke-kun isn't very fond of Sakura-chan." Naruto murmured, a pleased smiled bloomed across Naruto's lips.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Your assumption is correct, my marriage to Sakura is nothing to me. Her pregnancy has made my dislike for her grow even more."

_____ _

  


_____ _

Naruto smiled brightly. Sasuke didn't understand Naruto's sudden mood changes.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Sakura-chan is so beautiful when I first saw her I thought you'd be absolutely in love with her-I'm happy to see that Sasuke-kun hasn't changed too much. You still have that moody look on your face. I really like it." Naruto blushed.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"About that..." Sasuke took a deep breath. He had been internally practicing this apology for the past five years; it was about time to finally deliver it to Naruto. He couldn't stall any longer. "I want to apologize."

_____ _

  


_____ _

"I already said don't worry! You didn't offend me-" Naruto interjected.

_____ _

  


_____ _

"-No, not about that," Sasuke took a step closer. "I want to properly apologize about what happened the last time you were here."

_____ _

  


_____ _

"Oh." Naruto's eyes widened.

_____ _

  


_____ _

_"The way I acted was childish. I was jealous of you and said things that I should've never said. I regret my actions, everyday I wish that I could go back and change how things played out. I hope you'll be able to forgive me again." ___

_____ _

__  
_ _

_____ _

__Naruto's eyes widened. "You know...my language? Naruto smiled softly; he closed the small space between him and Sasuke and hugged him to his body. _" _Of course I'll forgive you, Sasuke-san, I'll always forgive you. _" _____ __

_____ _

___  
_ _ _

_____ _

___Sasuke said nothing. Even after all these years Naruto's body against his still felt so right. It was so small and warm he wanted to protect it. This was definitely the only submissive in the world that he wanted. How could he make Naruto his? It seemed hopeless-without his childish optimism to cloud his reasoning he now knew that what he wanted was impossible because it already belonged to someone else._ _ _

_____ _

___  
_ _ _

_____ _

___It was purely coincidental that Sasuke ran into Naruto in the garden that day but somehow it felt like fate. Like this meeting was destined to happen long ago and things were falling into place for something greater._ _ _

________ _ _ _ _

_____ _

________ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow...HTML coding chapters is time consuming & requires a lot of attention...I HATE IT *cries* I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!
> 
> p.s does anyone know how to make coding easier? >.<


	3. Never Been Kissed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter isn't my favorite but I truly hope you all like it!
> 
> Also I have a final tomorrow so keep me in your thoughts lmao my GPA depends on it!

Later on that night, after Sasuke was sure Sakura was asleep; he sneaked back to his parent's palace. Not out of fear of getting caught but because he didn't want to deal with her if she was awake.

It had taken him longer than usual to get to his parents palace since he couldn't ride his horse there like he usually did but he arrived eventually. He was a little sweaty and out of breath but it didn't matter since he'd be training anyways. He dressed in a simple white open training haori, which was held together by a red-corded belt, he also wore traditional black loose fitting training pants and common training footwear.

While Sasuke waited for Naruto to arrive in the garden, the autumn wind blew through the trees. It was cold out; he should've brought an overcoat. He hoped Naruto dressed warmly, he didn't want his love to catch a cold. Twenty minutes later Sasuke heard the steady sound of feet thumping against the ground. He quickly hid himself behind a bush and peered out to see who had come. Of course it was Naruto. He had to make sure though, he couldn't get caught before he even had the chance to teach Naruto anything. If it had been a guard and Naruto showed up a little later it could've ended everything.

"Sasuke-kun?" Naruto called out softly. "Are you here?" Naruto's long blonde hair was tied up into a high ponytail, and there was a simple flower jade pin holding his bangs back so that they wouldn't hang in his face. Sasuke recognized the jade pin as the same one Naruto had worn on the last day he had been here five years ago. Naruto's body was cloaked in a ground length overcoat and his eyes were wide and alert.

Sasuke stepped out from behind the bush. "I'm right here, don't worry."

"Oh," Naruto whirled around in Sasuke's direction. "I had begun to think that you hadn't come."

"If I had no intention of coming I would've made sure to inform you, I wouldn't want you out here all alone."

"Such a gentleman." Naruto blushed.

"Of course I am, you're my brothers future submissive. You deserve to be treated with respect."

"Oh, okay then." Naruto beamed. "Before we begin I want to tell you that I'm grateful that you agreed to train me."

Sasuke bowed. "It's my pleasure. I'm more than happy to train you."

"So am I." Naruto's eyes remained on Sasuke for a few seconds then he suddenly dropped his cloak, revealing his body. "Let's get started, then."

Sasuke's mind blanked. He heard Naruto saying words but he couldn't focus on them because Naruto's attire was...distracting. Naruto was definitely not dressed appropriately for the chilly weather.

Naruto was wearing a short blue yukata. The sleeves were still long but the length of the yukata only went up to Naruto's hips. However, that wasn't what was distracting Sasuke, it was the black shorts and thigh high black socks that Naruto was wearing that was making Sasuke's mind short circuit. The exposed skin of Naruto's supple thighs were displayed for his eyes to see and Sasuke wanted nothing more than to spread them and see what lay in between. They looked so soft and untouched, they'd defiantly bruise easily if he bit them...

"Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke shook his head to refocus his mind back into reality. He quickly drew his eyes away from Naruto's body.

"You shouldn't have worn that."

"Why?" Naruto asked innocently.

"I don't have any right to look at your exposed thighs, you belong to Itachi. He has to grant me permission to look upon any exposed part of your body."

Naruto blushed. "I-I didn't know that, we don't have that custom in Whirlpool Country."

"It's okay, you didn't know." Sasuke said while still averting his eyes.

"So what does this mean? Is our training session canceled? Because I can't go back to my sleeping chambers and sneak back out again, it'll be too dangerous."

"It seems we'll have to postpone until tomorrow then." Sasuke replied. He was disappointed too; he had been looking forward to this all afternoon.

"B-but I don't want to wait until tomorrow!" Naruto cried urgently, "how about I give you permission? Huh, it's my body, I give you permission to look at it Sasuke-kun!"

Naruto's words were so erotic and he didn't even know it. It was driving Sasuke insane. If Naruto had been an unclaimed submissive he would've taken that as permission to enter their body.

"No, it doesn't work like that, my brother has to be the one to grant me permission since you'll be his submissive after the wedding."

"That's not fair." Naruto whined. "Ah, I have an idea!"

Sasuke heard fabric ripping and then silence.

"Okay, you can look now Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke looked up. Naruto had ripped his overcoat and had tied the fabric around his thighs so that there were two bows tied around them.

"Now you can't see anything~" Naruto sang excitedly.

Sasuke could still see the soft skin of Naruto's thighs protruding around the tied bows. They looked like two presents. Sasuke internally groaned it didn't even make a difference. If anything it made Naruto's thighs look even more enticing.

"Untie them."

"B-but if I do you won't be able to train me!"

"I will, don't worry, I've decided to ignore the rules, I'm already breaking so many by training you and being alone with you, one more broken rule won't hurt."

"Are you sure?" Naruto questioned gently. "If it bothers Sasuke-kun too much I can go." Naruto's golden eyebrows lifted and his pink lips jutted out into a pout, making him appear even cuter.

Sasuke nodded his head. "Your thighs will be marked if you leave that material tied around them for too long, I don't want your delicate skin to be ruined because of me."

Naruto blushed and quickly undid the ties. They fluttered to the ground, once again exposing Naruto's thighs.

Sasuke took a deep breath. He'd have to focus extremely hard in order to focus on teaching Naruto and not on his body instead.

"Okay first I'm going to teach you the basics..."

* * *

Sasuke trained Naruto every night in the garden for the next four days. A wedding typically took a month to plan so Sasuke had about a week and a half left until Naruto was claimed completely by Itachi and their training would end.

Every time Sasuke thought about it he wanted to take Naruto far, far away and keep him hidden for him self but he knew he couldn't. For one Naruto's parents would definitely find them and for another Sasuke couldn't betray his brother like that-he'd never intentionally hurt his brother. So, as the days passed Sasuke cherished each night he got to spend with Naruto. He realized that Naruto was an easy person to love. He was innocent and fiercely determined to learn. Every day Sasuke's love grew stronger and stronger; it felt like at any moment it'd burst.

* * *

"You're a quick learner, you've grasped the basics astonishingly fast." Sasuke said with pride.

They had just finished their lesson; Naruto was reclining on the grass. His blonde hair was plaited into one long braid; the hair of his bangs hung loose and blew in the wind. Even while sweaty and breathing hard Naruto was stunning.

"Yeah," Naruto laughed nervously. "Or maybe you're just a really good sensei, Sasuke-kun."

"It's not that, I'm a horrible sensei. You've completely surpassed my expectations." Sasuke sat on the ground next to Naruto. "It's like you already know how to fight."

"Ah, really?" Naruto's voice raised an octave. "Maybe I really am just gifted?"

"No. It's more than that…are you sure you haven't trained befo-"

"Ah! It's getting late!" Naruto abruptly stood up, "I should head back already! Sasuke-kun thank you for teaching me again tonight! Please be here again tomorrow!" Naruto bowed and then scurried off.

Once again an intuition told Sasuke that Naruto was hiding something but just like last time, he chose to ignore it. Sasuke smiled as he watched Naruto's retreating figure, unbeknownst to him a pair of amber eyes also watched from a distance.

* * *

The next day Sasuke's mother had requested his presence at the Uchiha palace. Sasuke usually only went to the palace for dinner so his mothers early summon interested him. What was so important that she couldn't tell him during the day?

When Sasuke arrived at his parent's palace an irritating sight greeted him. Sakura. She was standing outside the palace doors with her hand resting over her belly.

"I waited for your arrival Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted. She bounded down the steps and ran to greet her husband. Sasuke briefly wished that she had tripped on the steps and killed her and the weak baby growing inside of her. It was a violent wish to have but one that Sasuke desperately wanted to happen.

"You look so handsome today Sasuke-kun! I missed you." Sakura gushed as she latched herself onto Sasuke's arm. They walked up the steps leading into the palace. The guards at the sides of the door bowed as the royal couple walked past them. "You should wear white more often...although...I am a little angry that everyone can now see your chest."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He had worn the white training shirt that he had been wearing during his spars with Naruto. He could smell Sakura's arousal as her green eyes eyed his exposed skin. "But then again I'm happy to see your chest again after so many nights of you refusing my advances."

"Stop talking." Sasuke grumbled underneath his breath. He wanted to cut Sakura's tongue out, why did she constantly have to annoy him?

As they walked a butler approached them, the graying butler bowed and then raised his head.

"Good afternoon your majesty, Lady Mikoto requests your presence in her west wing powder chambers," the butlers eyes looked at Sakura dryly, the dislike for her was clear in his wrinkled face, "she also requests that you come alone."

"Very well then, you may return to your duty."

"Thank you, your majesty." The butler bowed and then walked off.

Sasuke could've kissed the man. He had been thinking of a way to get rid of Sakura and now he didn't have to. He pried his arm out of Sakura's snake tight grip and walked away. He didn't want to be with her any longer than he had to.

"I'll be waiting for you, Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke heard Sakura call loudly in a shrill voice. He stopped himself from turning around and yelling at her to shut up.

Once Sasuke arrived at the golden doors of his mother's powder room he knocked once. The guard at the door bowed at him and then opened the door.

"Lady Mikoto ordered me to let you in as soon as you arrived, your majesty." The guard explained.

Sasuke nodded and then entered his mother's powder room. The last time Sasuke had been inside one of his mother's powder rooms was when he was ten and his pet cat had run into one. He had chased it inside and found it underneath a mountain of pillows.

There was never a need for him to go inside one of his mother's powder rooms, it was the place she readied herself, dominants had no business being inside of it. He wondered why his mother had decided on this odd location to speak with him.

"Come in, sweetie." Mikoto ordered as she gestured to an open seat beside her.

She was seated on a black satin love chair in front of her vanity. Her long black hair was slightly damp and her face was bare of any make up. Her attire was beautiful, a deep red chiffon kimono that had black lace at the top, the fabric wasn't stiff like a usual kimono, but flowed like water going down a stream. The beauty of the kimono was lost though since it appeared to have been hastily put on. It was as if his mother had put it on herself.

Sasuke sat in the chair beside his mother and reached for her hand. Now that he was closer he could see that her eyes were rimmed red.

"Have you been crying?" Sasuke asked. His mother didn't really cry much, she was a strong submissive and the queen of one of the most powerful clans in the world, she equated crying with weakness so her tears were a rare sight.

"I-I-" Mikoto bursted into an array of tears. It was such a troubling sight that Sasuke bolted up and hugged his mother.

"What's wrong, mother?"

Mikoto padded away at her tears and took a deep breath.

"It's your brother."

"Itachi? What about Itachi?"

"It's the duel he accepted from the Hyūga heir! I keep thinking about it, I don't want him to go through with it!"

"That's all?" Sasuke smiled, a little relived. The way his mother had been crying he had thought that Itachi had up and disappeared from existence. "Mother, you shouldn't cry over that, Itachi's a genius, he could beat Neji with his hands tied behind his back."

"I know that but I just have a feeling things will go bad," Tears gathered again in Mikoto's eyes. "Kaguyas been too good to Itachi, I fear she's planning something for him, I just know it!"

"Mother you sound irrational, Kaguya is a goddess who looks upon all who are good with favor, Itachi is so blessed because he is morally pure, nothing will happen."

Mikoto calmed down a bit as her son spoke. Maybe she was being a bit irrational. But she couldn't help it; she had a bad feeling that something big was going to happen.

"Sasuke would you ease my conscience by doing me the favor of trying to talk Itachi out of the duel? He's always had a soft spot for you. Please try?"

Sasuke nodded. "And if he refuses to call off the duel?"

"Then train with him, make sure you throw everything at him, train until you beat some sense into that thick skull of his!"

"Yes, mother, understood." Sasuke bowed then hugged his mother once more.

As he walked out of the powder room Sasuke realized something-his mother was actually a very fragile woman. The hardened exterior she wore was an armor to hide her true self. It was amazing and it made Sasuke's love for his mother grow a little more. She was far from the mother he wished she'd be to him but this little crack in her rock solid exterior was nice.

* * *

"Sasuke-kun, there you are!" Sakura bellowed as she ran down the hall to her husband. "I've been looking all over the palace for you, lady Mikoto told me to look for you in the east wing and she was right!"

"I'm busy right now Sakura." Sasuke rubbed his temples. He had been looking for Itachi for the past twenty minutes. His parent's palace was so big that searching it was proving tiresome. He had no idea how he had been able to search the entire palace when he was a mere boy of nine, it seemed almost impossible now.

"Doing what?" Sakura prodded.

"Things."

"Well can these things wait? It's afternoon and I want to spend time with you. I want the baby to hear your voice more often so he can know who his father is the moment he comes out of me!"

Sasuke's ears perked up at something that Sakura had said. He had been so dumb-afternoon-Itachi trained every afternoon in the dojo! Why hadn't he thought of that first? He had wasted twenty minutes for nothing.

Sasuke quickly bounded out the palace. He heard Sakura yelling behind him but he tuned her out. He ran until he arrived at the dojo. He slid the door open and immediately spotted his brother, shirtless, sweaty, and sparring against his sensei, Rembu.

"Brother, how about you spar against me for a change and give this old man a rest already?" Sasuke teased as he walked into the dojo.

Itachi stopped the kick he was about to deliver to Rembu's arm. "Sasuke? What are you doing here? I've grown accustomed to seeing you only during the evenings. It's good to see you little brother." Itachi walked over and hugged his brother.

"I came to see you." Sasuke smiled. "So, how about a little spar?" Sasuke raised his hand and ignited a small set of flames at each of his fingertips, "I have a new move I've been dying to show you."

"Fine, I'll agree but only to entertain Naruto, he's been watching me train everyday and I think he's grown tired of seeing me beat Rembu."

Sasuke's eyes darted around at the mention of Naruto's name. He finally spotted the love of his life sitting at the back of the dojo on a silk pillow. He was wearing a light pink kimono and it fanned around him like a halo. His hair was all swept up into a braided coil and there was a pearl pin in the center of it, sakura petals dangled from the pin along with some shimmering crystals. His eyes were outlined with a rose colored shadow and his arms were folded elegantly in his lap. Konan, who was now dressed in the traditional clothes of a handmaiden, was sitting beside Naruto, fanning him with a large feathered fan. Sasuke had been so engrossed in finding his brother that he hadn't even realized Naruto's presence in the room.

Naruto bowed when their eyes met then smiled. "It's nice to see you again Sasuke-kun. I look forward to seeing you later on tonight as well." Naruto's eyes sparkled mischievously at the double meaning of his words.

"As well as you." Sasuke bowed in return. A smile was dancing at the edge of his lips but he held it back. Naruto was just too damn cute for his own good.

"Well then, let's get this fight started, Rembu you may leave." Itachi ordered.

The old mad nodded then hobbled out of the dojo.

"Now then," Itachi raised his hand in a fighting stance, "come at me, Sasuke."

Sasuke's hands instantly bursted into flames, he threw a portion of the fire at Itachi's hands to stop him from igniting his own flames. It failed, Itachi's fists were now both engulfed in matching blue flames. Itachi's fighting style was unique, he didn't use powerful red flames like Sasuke did, he kept his flame low and only increased the heat before he attacked. Sasuke personally couldn't fight like that, he didn't have that type of self-control, but he admired the way his brother was able to do it.

"Is that the best you can do, little brother? The last time it took you a minute to beat me, if you don't hurry up and attack me seriously then you won't be able to beat your record." Itachi smirked as his blue flames burned a little brighter.

That was all the goading Sasuke needed. He added more chakra into his flames and ran towards Itachi. He threw a quick succession of fireballs at Itachi's face as he ran but Itachi dodged every single one. Sasuke crouched down and aimed for Itachi's feet, it had worked; Itachi's legs were now on fire. The flame engulfed Itachi's entire body and then suddenly Itachi's body dissolved. A single raven appeared in his place.

 _A shadow clone or genjutsu?_ Sasuke activated his sharingan and peered around the room. If this was a genjutsu then when had Itachi trapped him in it? And if this wasn't a genjutsu then where was Itachi hiding? Before Sasuke could even blink his eyes, a burning heat engulfed his back. He quickly tore his haori off and watched as it withered to ashes on the ground.

"Sneaky move, big brother." Sasuke laughed. There was nothing quite like the exhilarating excitement of sparring against Itachi. He always had to stay two steps ahead.

"If this had been a genjutsu you would've come out by now so I'm guessing were still in reality." Sasuke's red eyes scanned the dojo, "now, where are you hiding?"

A flame exploded at the side of Sasuke's face, he ducked down and looked in the direction the flame had come from. It was a grave mistake. As soon as he turned his head he was trapped in Itachi's genjutsu. Sasuke cursed. He should've looked down but instead he had looked up right into his brother's eyes. He focused his mind; he had to find a way to break this genjutsu.

Sasuke tried to focus his mind but then suddenly a delicious aroma wafted through the air. Was this part of the genjutsu? As the intoxicating smell grew stronger and stronger Sasuke wanted to find its source. The edges of the room grew blurry and then the room disappeared all together. He was back in reality.

"Did you just break my genjutsu?" Itachi asked astonished. "How?"

"I don't know?" Sasuke replied honestly, "I smelled the most sweetest aroma I've ever come across and my mind jolted awake."

Sasuke sniffed the air in the room and his mouth instantly watered. The sweet smell hadn't been part of Itachi's genjutsu but had actually been real!

"Maybe this fragrant odor was so pleasing to you it broke through your unconscious mind and brought you back to reality?" Itachi summarized. The amazement was still evident on his face.

"What was it though?" Sasuke sniffed around the room and followed the scents trail. To his utter amazement the smell had been coming from Naruto. Was that...was this odor...Naruto? No way! Sasuke immediately got hard. This delicious scent was the aroma of Naruto's arousal. He had been so used to Sakura's vile scent he hadn't realized that a submissive arousal could smell so heavenly.

"Please forgive my master, he's been sitting here watching his alpha fight shirtless all afternoon, it's finally gotten to him." Konan explained plainly, as if Naruto emitting an arousing scent was nothing to worry about.

Sasuke looked down at Naruto. His head was bowed so that Sasuke couldn't see his face properly. Was this the first time it had happened? Itachi had said Naruto watched him practice everyday and he knew that his brother always practiced shirtless. Was Naruto really this affected by Itachi? Sasuke wanted to hit the wall. The dominant beast inside of him was furious that another dominant sexually turned on Naruto.

"So it was Naruto emitting the scent?" Itachi said proudly. He kneeled down and grabbed Naruto's chin so that their eyes met. "In a weeks time I'll satisfy that craving for you so don't be embarrassed, little one." Itachi kissed Naruto's hand then rose back up. He sniffed the air and basked in the scent of his future submissive.

Sasuke couldn't stand much more. He needed to get out of here before he did something dumb. Naruto's scent was so alluring that he couldn't even focus on his brother's comment about bedding Naruto in the future. He was about to excuse himself when he remembered the promise he had made to his mother earlier.

"Can I speak with you in private, brother?" Sasuke asked breathlessly. The air was suffocating him. It was making him want to part Naruto's pretty legs and mount him. But he couldn't leave; he had to speak with Itachi on behalf of his mother.

"Of course. It's about time for Naruto to leave anyways."

Sasuke thanked the stars for blessing him with such good fortune. With Naruto gone he'd be able to calm his lust-frenzied mind.

"Lord Itachi is right, it's time for me to ready my master for dinner." Konan rose to her feet and helped Naruto stand up.

"I'll see you tonight at dinner, Itachi-san." Naruto bowed. "I'm sorry about what happened, I interrupted your practice for being so shameful."

"No, never apologize for something like that, I'm happy that you desire me so strongly."

Naruto's cheeks flared red. His blue eyes flickered to Sasuke. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Naruto's eyes had lingered on his chest. "I'll see you at dinner Sasuke-kun, it was truly a pleasure to see you."

"It was a blessing to see you as well, your presence in the dojo was uplifting." Sasuke bowed. A drip of sweat trickled off of his forehead and landed on the extra fabric gathered at the bottom of Naruto's kimono. Naruto gasped. Sasuke could swear that the delicious scent suddenly grew even stronger.

"We should get going now, master." Konan advised urgently.

Naruto nodded and excused his self, he left the dojo, taking the intoxicating scent of his arousal with him.

"So, what is it you wanted to tell me, little brother?" Itachi asked as soon as they were alone.

"I'm not going to stall, it's mother. She's worried sick about your duel with Neji. She cried to me saying that she had a bad feeling about it, she's asked me to ask you to not go through with it."

"This again?" Itachi laughed, "she worries too much, those powders she wears on her face have turned her crazy. There's nothing to fear, little brother. Tell mother that I'm going through with this duel and that when I win it, I'll prove to her she was worried over nothing."

"But what if she's right?" Sasuke didn't like to think about it but Neji was pretty strong himself. The byakugan was a strong ocular jutsu that had bested many great warriors in the past including some Uchiha ones. His brother was a genius but there was always a chance that Neji could win.

"There's nothing to worry about, I've mastered the sharingan and the mangekyo, and unless that Hyūga cheats I will be victorious."

Sasuke smiled; maybe his mother was worrying over nothing. Itachi was the strongest warrior he knew, Neji was strong but he wasn't as strong as a genius like his brother.

"I'll inform mother of your decision then."

"Good, tell her everything happens for a reason and that whatever happens during the duel was destined long before Neji challenged me."

Sasuke nodded. His brother's words reignited his uneasy feeling but he said nothing about it. His brother was unbeatable-there was nothing to worry about. Just like his brother had promised years ago-nothing would change.

* * *

"Your form is incorrect." Sasuke said as he stood beside Naruto. He raised Naruto's arm higher then stepped back.

They were in their usual training spot. It was late into the night and despite the events of earlier that afternoon Naruto had still requested to train. Sasuke shivered as a sharp gust of wind blew through the clearing. Since his practice shirt had been burnt during his spar against Itachi a few hours earlier, he no longer had a shirt to wear. He'd have a new one bought for him tomorrow morning.

"Like this?" Naruto asked shyly. He raised his arm and drew his shoulders back.

"Yes, that's perfect." Sasuke murmured as he looked at the way Naruto's back arched in the position he was in. He came back to reality and tore his eyes away. It was getting harder and harder to focus. The memory of Naruto's delicious scent from earlier was making his mind conjure up perverse thoughts.

"Okay, since you now got all the forms down, I'm going to teach you something new."

Naruto smiled brightly. "What is it?"

"It's a technique you can use to pin down an enemy during hand to hand combat." Sasuke moved to stand behind Naruto, "I'm going to touch you, is that okay?"

Naruto nodded.

Sasuke wounded his arms around Naruto's waist and pulled him close. "The trick is to get behind the enemy and trap them before they can even move, once you do, you kick them in the back of the knee so that there knees can buckle, after that they'll topple to the ground and you'll have the upper hand since you'll be on top of them." Sasuke explained. "I'll show you." Sasuke applied small pressure to the back of Naruto's knees then watched as the blond crumpled to the ground. He let his body fall with Naruto's but didn't land on top of him; he turned their bodies so that Naruto landed on top of him instead.

"Oh." Naruto blushed and looked down. Sasuke suddenly realized that their position was a bit suggestive. He attempted to separate himself form Naruto but then the familiar sweet scent of Naruto's arousal assaulted his nose. He looked down in surprise and saw that Naruto was hiding his face behind both of his hands.

Sasuke was astonished by what was happening. Naruto was aroused right now, and it wasn't because of Itachi…was it because of him?

"Naruto...are you...aroused right now?" Sasuke sniffed the sweet smelling air. He unconsciously pulled Naruto down closer to him.

"I'm sorry! Please don't tell Itachi-san." Naruto whimpered. He leaned his head down and rested it against the space between Sasuke's shoulder and neck. Sasuke stiffened when Naruto sniffed at his neck, a sign that he found Sasuke's scent attractive.

"You just smell so good, and when you're shirtless I can't help myself. Please don't tell Itachi-san." Naruto buried his face in Sasuke's neck.

The way Naruto was shyly scenting him made Sasuke's dominant urges surge. Naruto's aroma was so inviting, it was clear Naruto wanted him. Sasuke was positive that if he asked Naruto, he would've willingly submitted himself to him. The arousal was blinding, Sasuke's inner beast was screaming at him to dominant Naruto. Everything was escalating so fast and then the atmosphere shattered.

Glowing amber eyes came running out from the shadows of the trees. It was Konan and an army of white paper butterflies swirled around her as she ran.

"Step away from my master!" Konan yelled. She raised her hand and a dozen butterflies flew towards Sasuke's face.

Sasuke jumped up and ignited his hand into flames. Just as he was about to throw a fireball at the paper butterflies a swirling ball of blue air destroyed them.

Sasuke's eyes darted around to locate who had thrown the powerful jutsu. His eyes landed on the shocking image of Naruto crouching in front of him. There was a swirling ball of wind in Naruto's palm just like the one that had obliterated the paper butterflies.

"Leave him alone, Konan! I was the one who tempted him first!" Naruto yelled.

"Move aside master! This wasn't part of the plan!" Konan raised her hand and resurrected the broken paper butterflies off of the ground and redirected them back at Sasuke.

Sasuke was still reeling from the fact that Naruto had just performed a jutsu. And not just any ordinary jutsu, he had performed one that Sasuke had never seen before. Why had Naruto told him he wanted to learn how to fight when it was clear that Naruto knew plenty?

"Konan please! I don't want to fight you!" Naruto's eyes were focused intently on Konan's advancing body. The way he was crouched down was almost animalistic. Sasuke had never seen a submissive act like this before. "I won't let you hurt him! I'd rather die than let you harm him!"

Sasuke came to his senses. A submissive was pledging their life to protect him; it should've been the other way around.

"Stand down Naruto, I'll fight her."

"No Sasuke-kun! She's just angry I'll calm her down!" Naruto formed another ball of the strange blue swirl in his palm and threw it at the butterflies. "Konan, this is an order. Cease your attack or else I'll releases you from being my hand maiden!"

All of the remaining paper butterflies suddenly fell to the floor. Konan dropped to her knees and lowered her head.

"Forgive me, master." Konan bowed lowly, "when I saw that your innocence was in danger I couldn't stand by and watch like you ordered me too. I reacted out of fear."

"I forgive you, now rise."

Naruto hugged Konan. Her amber eyes were filled with tears. The way Naruto was acting wasn't like someone who hated his or her handmaiden or someone who wanted to get rid of them…

"What's going on here?" Sasuke tried to piece everything together but he couldn't make sense of anything.

Naruto had asked Konan to watch him. Naruto knew how to fight. And apparently Konan and Naruto had some sort of plan together. He had had feeling that Naruto was hiding something, was this it?

Naruto sighed. He slowly turned to face Sasuke. "I ordered Konan to watch us spar. She's been present ever single night you've trained me."

"Why did you hide this from me?"

"Because I love you isn't it obvious!" Naruto cried. "I made up this whole lie because I needed a reason to be closer to you! I've loved you ever since you saved me from my sister that night in the pond. I couldn't forget about you, even after all these years I still have the night robe you gave me that night at the pond! I know I should love Itachi-san but I can't because my heart has always been yours Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke was truly at a loss for words. How hadn't he noticed Naruto's feelings yet?

"I've been in love with you all these years too." Sasuke confessed out loud for the first time. It felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders and he could finally breath again.

"You love me?" Naruto's eyes watered.

"Yes." Sasuke growled. He scooped Naruto up into his arms and hugged him to his body. He fully relished in the euphoric feeling that overcame him. Naruto's body against his made Sasuke feel whole, like he had finally found his missing piece. Sasuke hitched Naruto up higher and kissed the delicate skin near the corner of his lips. No matter how bad he wanted to kiss Naruto's plump lips he couldn't, that right was reserved for his brother.

"Kiss me." Naruto pleaded silently when he noticed Sasuke's reluctance to get near his lips.

Sasuke's willpower wavered. Naruto looked extremely needy.

"Please." Naruto begged. His eyes lowered submissively. "I want it."

Sasuke completely gave in. Naruto's lips hovered closer to his. The heat radiating off of them drew him in. He closed the space between them and gently kissed Naruto's petal soft lips. Naruto's cheeks were burning red and Sasuke could hear Naruto quickly losing his breath. He didn't ever want the kiss to end, after years of yearning for them; Naruto's lips were finally his.

"That's enough, master. It's already late, we need to get back before the guards come and check for you like last time." Konan advised sternly.

Naruto reluctantly broke the kiss. He nodded and hopped down from Sasuke's arms.

"She's right," Naruto panted. "Besides I don't think I can go on much longer, I haven't kissed anyone before, my body is reacting weird." Naruto shyly looked down. The smell of his arousal was still fragrant in the air; it had gotten noticeably stronger the second their lips touched. "I'm sorry to end things like this Sasuke-kun!"

"You can just call me Sasuke." Sasuke grabbed Naruto's hand and held it up to his face, his dominant beast was howling in delight over the fact that a submissive of such high quality like Naruto had just given him his first kiss. "And it's fine, we have tomorrow night."

"Okay," Naruto blushed. "I'll see you tomorrow then, _Sasuke_."

Sasuke chuckled, "I'll look forward to it, _Naruto_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading & all the kudos guys! I love hearing what you guys think so don't be scared to befriend me! ^^


	4. Secret Kisses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: long chapter, sexual situations, Sakura bashing
> 
> Reminder that in this fanfic 'italics' symbolize the language of the West.

When Sasuke awoke the next morning he had thought last night had all been a dream. But when he arrived at the his parent's palace later that evening for dinner Naruto had given him a longing look when no one was paying attention. It thrilled him. It proved that everything that had happened the previous night was real and not a figment of his imagination. The next couple of days went on in quiet bliss, whenever Sasuke could get Naruto alone he'd shower the blond with pent up affection. They were secret lovers in every sense of the word except their touching only went as far as kissing, but Sasuke didn't mind as long as he could have Naruto's willing, soft lips against his he was happy.

* * *

Naruto sighed as he lolled his head on his silk pillow. It was so early that the morning sun hadn't even graced the sky with light yet. It was the time of morning that Naruto would've usually been sleeping but lately it had been difficult to remain asleep. He couldn't sleep at all because all he could think about was Sasuke.

 _"Another restless night, master?"_ Konan emerged from the shadows. She was already dressed for the day ahead, as always Konan's early state of dress made Naruto wonder if his handmaiden even slept at all.

 _"I had another one of those dreams."_ Naruto whispered, fearful of speaking his shameful state too loud. He knew it was ridiculous; there weren't many people in Fire Country who would've been able to understand the language he was speaking even if they were to hear him.

 _"Again?"_ Konan smiled softly, _"Don't be ashamed master, it's perfectly normal for a boy your age to have such dreams. I'll run the bath for you, don't worry."_ Konan set to work on preparing Naruto's bath as she had done every morning for the past few days.

Naruto buried his face in the pillows as he waited for the tub to fill. The stickiness between his legs made him feel gross. He could feel his thighs sticking together, it was like someone had spread honey on both of them and then stuck them together.

 _"The bath is ready, master."_ Konan announced.

Naruto carefully got out of bed. His juban was sticking to the inside of his thighs where the sticky substance was gathered. It clung to him in the most unpleasant manner imaginable. It always made him feel itchy. He sighed gratefully when Konan took the scratchy juban off of him. She put it into a bin along with his soiled sheets. Naruto shivered as the chilly morning air prickled his skin.

 _"It's cold."_ Naruto whined. He craned his head around to the side of the room where he could see the land outside the palace through the slit of the heavy draped curtains. _"I'm surprised it's not snowing."_

Konan swiftly dashed to the drapes and closed them completely so that the small slit was gone. _"We can't have anyone accidentally getting a peek at the master's body now can we?"_ Konan shook her head disappointingly like a mother would to her misbehaving child, _"Now, let's get you in the tub, you're shivering like a little frozen kitten."_ Konan grabbed Naruto's hand and helped him into the enormous tub.

Naruto let out a satisfied moan when the warm water enveloped his body. The water was infused with oils that were meant to heal the body and was scented with jasmine so that the water smelled sweet. There were bushels of lavender floating around in the heated water; Konan used these as sponges to wash Naruto's delicate skin.

_"Raise your arm.",/em > Konan said calmly. Naruto mechanically raised his arm so Konan could scrub his armpit. They were both accustomed to the humdrum routine of bathing, Konan would utter an order and Naruto would follow. It had been this way ever since Konan had been appointed Naruto's handmaiden when Naruto was five and she was seventeen._

_"Other arm."_ Konan ordered. Naruto complied and stretched his arm up.

Naruto relaxed into the soothing bath water as Konan went to work on the rest of his body. He tried to focus his thoughts away from the person that had caused his messy state.

_Sasuke._

Just thinking his name made Naruto's cheeks burn red.

 _"Open your legs master so I can scrub away the evidence of your nightly dreams."_ Konan submerged her hands deeper into the tub and attempted to pry Naruto's thighs open but was harshly pushed away.

 _"I-I'll do it!"_ Naruto grabbed one of the floating lavender garlands and hastily scrubbed between his thighs.

 _"Master, don't be ridiculous. I'll wash you."_ Konan smiled wistfully at Naruto's abnormal behavior. She tried to part Naruto's thighs again but this time was stopped by Naruto screaming.

 _"I said I'd do it!"_ Naruto cried. An embarrassed blush graced his wet cheeks as he looked down. Konan's ministrations on his thighs reminded him too much of his shameful dream with Sasuke.

 _"But I always do it, master."_ Konan said astonished.

 _"I know but,"_ Naruto sat up to regain his composure, _"I'm not a little boy anymore, I'll be mated soon. It's time I start washing intimate areas myself."_

 _"Very well then, I'll respect my masters wishes."_ Konan frowned, _"Despite these dreams you've been having I was still in denial of master growing up but now it feels real. You are no longer my little boy."_

 _"Don't be sad Konan, I'll still need you, I just wont need you for everything."_ Naruto smiled warmly. His embarrassment slowly drifted away as the bath wore on.

 _"Are you ready for me to dress you, master?"_ Konan murmured after some time passed by.

 _"Mhmm."_ Naruto hummed. With Konan's help he rose out of the now lukewarm water.

Konan draped a fluffy white towel over Naruto's trembling shoulders. She dried him off and made sure to let Naruto dry his intimate areas by himself. After he was no longer dripping wet Konan tied a silk robe around Naruto so she could comb and dry his hair. Once his hair was dried and styled Konan went to the closet and took out a Kimono. The heavy weight of the fabric made her arms shake as she carried it and set it out on a chair beside Naruto.

 _"Black?"_ Naruto scrunched his nose in distaste at the depressing color of the kimono, _"Itachi-san said he doesn't care what color I wear, I don't wanna wear that color today."_ Naruto pouted when Konan didn't even budge which meant that she wasn't going to take the Kimono back and bring a new one.

_"This is the only winter Kimono you have that's clean right now. It's cold today, I don't want master to catch a cold in this frigid weather."_

Konan unwrapped the fiery orange fox fur around the collar of the Kimono so she could begin the long and tedious process of dressing Naruto but out of nowhere a quiet knock sounded at the wooden door.

Konan set the kimono down and looked at Naruto for permission to go answer the door. The action was useless since they both knew Konan would answer it anyways.

 _"Go ahead."_ Naruto murmured. It was probably a maid. He yawned and waited for Konan to send the maid away.

"What are you doing here?" Konan gasped, "This is hardly the appropriate time for you to visit my master."

"Shush, if you keep on hollering like that someone might hear you." A familiar deep voice commanded quietly.

Naruto felt his heartbeat quicken at the mere sound of the voice. He knew exactly whom that alluring voice belonged to.

"Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed happily.

"There you are." Sasuke's lips blossomed into a breathtaking smile. It went right to Naruto's heart, quickening his poor heart even more. He had never seen Sasuke this early in the day. The muted sunlight made Sasuke's pale skin look almost ethereal. Naruto knew Sasuke was an alpha but his features were as pretty as an omega's.

"What are you doing here so early in the morning?" Naruto whispered, still in disbelief that Sasuke was standing in his room. The only place they were ever alone for a prolonged period of time was during the night in the clearing when they trained.

"I came to see you of course." Sasuke laughed like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Why? Don't tell me you're not happy to see me?" Sasuke faked a pout. The exaggerated pout looked ridiculous on Sasuke's handsome regal face, it instantly made Naruto laugh.

"Of course I'm happy that Sasuke came to see me." Naruto smiled shyly. Sasuke was too pretty, no matter what silly face he made he was still gorgeous. Just being near Sasuke gave Naruto butterflies.

"I'm happy that I came too," Sasuke trailed his eyes over Naruto's body, which was still only covered by a thin white silk robe. "It's an honor to see you disrobed, I can only imagine how many others wished they'd get a glance at you like this." Sasuke sidestepped around Konan and walked to stand right in front of Naruto's sitting form. Naruto blushed, suddenly feeling hot underneath Sasuke's smoldering gaze. "Seeing you like this is reminding me of that time in the pond when your juban was all wet and-"

"Lord Uchiha!" Konan cleared her throat. "My patience is very thin today, I don't appreciate you putting my master in danger by being careless like this. If you have no urgent reason to see him then I have to ask you to leave."

"Calm yourself Konan," Sasuke chuckled at the feisty handmaiden, "I was joking, I didn't come here just to get a glimpse of Naruto although I'm glad I was able to see him like this. I've actually come to deliver a message from my brother."

"I don't believe you." Konan narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Why would he send you, especially this early in the morning? Why are you even here, you usually only come during the evenings." Konan turned to Naruto, _"Master I advise you to send him away at once, someone might see him! This is dangerous, look at his eyes, he has lecherous thoughts on his mind, it'd be wise to send him away before he can act on those impulses!"_ Konan spoke urgently.

"Tsk, tsk. Konan," Sasuke shook his head disappointingly, he crossed his arms and looked down at her as if she were a misbehaving child. _"Did you forget that I could understand your language? Or do you speak this rudely about every royal you meet?"_ Sasuke smirked when Konan gaped in shock. She bowed in apology. It was a sarcastic bow and they both knew she didn't mean it. "I'll admit I do have 'lecherous' thoughts but that isn't why I came here. I'm telling the truth, Itachi really did send me. He wants Naruto to accompany us and some other royals on a ride through the forest later this morning. I wouldn't be here this early if my brother hadn't personally asked me to go on this ride with him. So, Naruto will you come with us?"

"Yes!" Naruto shouted excitedly, "I'll go!" Stars twinkled in Naruto's eyes at the possibility of spending more time with Sasuke. Sasuke chuckled. Naruto was so cheerful, he really was pure.

Konan sighed. "Are you sure Master? It's very cold out today. If you go riding in this type of weather your cheeks will burn from the freezing cold wind."

"I'm sure, especially since Sasuke will be there." Naruto beamed.

"Heh, I knew you'd say yes."

"Okay if that's all you may leave now lord Uchiha. Even though Itachi-sama asked you to come here it's still highly inappropriate for you to be here while my master is undressed."

"You're right, I guess I'll be going. I'll see you later Naruto."

Before Sasuke could leave Naruto tugged on the hem of Sasuke's hakama.

Sasuke smirked, already knowing what Naruto wanted. He leaned down and kissed Naruto's waiting lips. A goodbye kiss had become one of their new habits. Sasuke didn't pull away until that delicious sweet scent begun to permeate the air. If Naruto got too aroused then the intoxicating aroma could potentially attract Itachi, which was why Sasuke always stopped the kiss when he smelled Naruto's excitement. It was difficult since every part of him was telling him to keep going but he couldn't risk it. Even though he now knew that Konan was actually on Naruto's side he couldn't try anything when she was around, she was still fiercely protective of Naruto and even if he could get around Konan and find a way to contain Naruto's scent so that it didn't attract Itachi, Sasuke couldn't claim Naruto's virginity because no matter how much he wished it, it didn't belong to him.

"I'll see you later, wear something warm." Sasuke kissed Naruto's lips once more then left.

Konan exhaled tiredly. "I'll draw another bath for you master, this time I'll make sure it's cold."

Naruto blushed and nodded. The stiffness between his legs had unfortunately also become a new habit as well.

* * *

"Ah, it's so windy, it's the perfect day for a ride through the country, I'm so happy you invited us Itachi-san." Ino stretched her slender arms as the cold wind blew her hair lazily behind her.

"You call this perfect weather?" Kiba snorted, amused by the princess's dumb words, "It's freezing out here! The flowers in your hair are practically icicles!"

"Whatever, I don't care!" Ino glared, "Any weather is perfect riding weather! My father would've never let me go horse riding if it hadn't been Itachi-san who invited me! So excuse me if I'm not being too picky about how cold it is dog-breath!"

"Yeah, being a royal submissive is nice but it's almost impossible to do things like this, my father wasn't going to let me come either until I told him that Itachi-san invited me personally. Plus today really is the perfect day for a horse ride since the Hyūga's aren't here to start drama!" Ten-ten added cheerfully. Despite her positive words her signature two buns were tied lower than normal in an attempt to shield her sensitive ears from the bitter wind.

"Hey, its not all of the Hyuga's, Hinata-chan is an angel! It's just her crazy brother!" Kiba barked angrily at the Temura clan heir. "You submissives should stop complaining and be grateful you're getting to come along with us dominants on our ride."

"Shut your mouth you dog! You should be grateful Itachi-san even invited a low level royal like you! You've been annoying me all morning long so shut up already!" Ino hollered.

"Learn your damn place! You can learn a thing or two about how to be a submissive from Hinata-chan!" Kiba bellowed in return.

"Haha, that's funny." Ino laughed dryly, "That boring princess can teach me nothing! You on the other hand can learn plenty from a dominant like Itachi-san!"

"So troublesome," Shikamaru yawned, his sleepy eyes remained half lidded as he spoke, "Can we get this horse ride over with already? It's cold."

"Fine," Ino glared, "so how are we doing this? Us submissives don't own horses, we're going to have to ride with one of the dominants." Ino's eyes widened in realization, "I'll be the one to ride with Itachi-san!" Ino's crush for the Uchiha brothers was well known. She was in love with both Sasuke and Itachi. She favored Itachi a little bit more due to his future king status.

"Shouldn't Naruto-kun ride with Itachi-san though?" Ten-ten asked confused. "He is Itachi-sans betrothed after all."

"It's okay Ten-ten-chan I'll just ride with another dominant, maybe Sasuke-kun can ride with me?" Naruto said quickly. He glanced hopefully at Sasuke then flitted his eyes away.

"Sasuke-kun is my husband, he will be riding with me!" Sakura yelled. She was offended at the mere thought that another submissive would ride with her husband. Especially if that submissive was Naruto. His comment about she and Sasuke not being "mates" still bothered her.

"You're pregnant, you can't ride a horse!" Ino cackled, "you might fall and lose your precious baby or have you forgotten that you're pregnant even though you take every chance you can to remind us?"

"Hmph," Sakura glared snidely at Ino, "If I can't ride with Sasuke-kun then no one else can! Naruto can ride with Itachi-san or even his dominant older sister Karin! He can ride with anyone else but my Sasuke-kun!"

"Sakura quiet yourself." Itachi commanded as he ran his hand through his hair, the irritating expression on Itachi's face was noticed only by Sasuke who knew his brother better than anyone else. It had been there all morning, he didn't know why his brother proposed this ride and invited all these people when they both knew Itachi had very little patience for things of this nature. "I think it's a good idea for Naruto and my brother to ride together," Sakura along with everyone else on the dirt road gaped, shocked by Itachi's declaration, "This is the perfect way for my brother to get over his childish dislike for my betrothed, isn't that right, Sasuke?"

Sasuke nodded awkwardly. His dislike for Naruto had withered away years ago. He was surprised that his brother was still oblivious to that fact. Was this the reason for Itachi's odd request to go for a ride? It was all a farce so that he and Naruto could "get along"? If so then Sasuke felt bad. His brother was dealing with people he disliked just so he and Naruto could develop a civil relationship. It was unnecessary since he already loved Naruto but he couldn't tell Itachi that.

"Ino will be riding with me, Naruto will ride with my little brother, Ten-ten will ride with Kiba and Shikamaru and Karin you may both ride alone or together, whatever you desire."

"I'll ride alone." Karin stared at the half asleep brown haired Nara dominant. "There's no honor in riding with another alpha, especially one so unspectacular like him."

"Bothersome." Shikamaru muttered as he mounted his brown horse. "Let's just get this over with already." Karin's insult seemed to not even faze Shikamaru. His ability to disassociate was impenetrable.

"Yes, let's. The day is young and I still want to spend as much of it as I can with my betrothed after this." Itachi agreed.

"If you wish to spend more time with Naruto then you'd have to start spending the nights with him as well, brother. You're practically with him every second of the day." Sasuke joked. He tried to not sound bitter over the fact that Itachi was always with Naruto. Naruto did belong to Itachi so he had every right to but still; his brother's words bothered him. Wasn't having Naruto all day good enough? Sasuke would've loved to have his love alone for at least one hour in the day. He brushed the bitterness away and mounted his black steed.

"Every second of the day isn't enough," Itachi wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist and pulled him against his body. "My inner beast craves Naruto at every moment, I need him by my side from the moment I wake up to the moment I close my eyes at night."

Ino glared at Naruto's blushing face. "You're a lucky submissive for Itachi-san to love you so much." Ino snubbed. "Just know that there's thousands of other submissives in the world who'd kill to be in your place and have Itachi-sans love."

"I know." Naruto looked down guiltily. His blue eyes quickly darted to Sasuke who was up on his horse pretending to ignore the scene between Naruto and Itachi. "I'll do my best to make sure that Itachi-san's love for me isn't wasted."

"Bothersome." Shikamaru muttered.

"Is that all you know how to say!?" Sakura belted.

The royal heirs laughed.

"No, I can say many more things, I just choose not to."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Are you always this dry and boring?"

"Only to you, princess."

The royals fell into another laughing fit. Even Itachi grinned in amusement. When everyone had finished laughing they began to mount their horses. Itachi picked Naruto up and sat him down sideways on Sasuke's horse so that he was sitting pressed against Sasuke's chest.

"Take care of my betrothed, little brother." Itachi rubbed the shiny black fabric of Naruto's kimono as he spoke, "I'm only allowing this because I want you to build a positive relationship with Naruto, view this ride as bonding time."

Sasuke ignored the guilt that Itachi's naive words brought out of him, "Understood, brother. I'll take care of Naruto as if were Kaguya herself." It wasn't farfetched; Naruto was Sasuke's little sun god.

Itachi nodded then gestured for Naruto to bend down.

"Have fun, I'll be thinking of you." Itachi kissed Naruto's cheek.

Naruto blushed. "And I you, Itachi-san."

After that Itachi mounted his own horse with Ino in front of him. Sakura yelled one more declaration of love for Sasuke and then the royals set off for their ride through the forest. The trail the royals rode was a peculiar one. It was long and twisted about at odd angles. The rode had many little sub paths that broke apart and then converged in the middle. Because of this oddity, many of the royals wound up on separate paths.

"I think we're lost." Naruto stated happily. He was in a joyous mood. He and Sasuke had been riding alone for the past ten minutes, which meant they were completely out of the public eye.

"I think you're right." Sasuke grinned. He slowed his horse down to a lazy trot and then hugged Naruto closer to him. He fingered the spot on Naruto's beautiful black kimono where his brother had touched earlier. A small part of Sasuke's mind was telling him to get rid of the scent Itachi had left behind on Naruto. He was feeling territorial even though Naruto was far from being his territory.

"I want to kiss you." Sasuke stated. Naruto looked beautiful in the dim lighting of the pre-winter sunlight. His pink cheeks and plump lips, the way the sun shone in his hair, the excitement dancing in his pretty blue eyes were all stunning. Just having Naruto pressed against him as they rode through the forest was making Sasuke want to kiss him.

"Then kiss me." Naruto giggled. "There's no one else around to stop you."

"What if you were to stop me?" Sasuke joked as he touched the dangling sapphires in Naruto's hair. The ice sticking to them made them look like literal icicles.

"Why would I ever do that?" Naruto feigned a hurt expression. "I've wanted to feel Sasuke's lips on mine ever since this morning when you came to my sleeping chambers and I saw your pretty face!"

"Pretty?" Sasuke smirked, amused by Naruto's description.

"Yes, pretty!" Naruto cheeks, which were already red due to the cold wind whipping against them as they rode, turned even redder. "Sasuke is way too pretty, sometimes I don't even think you're an alpha." Naruto admitted timidly, "I always want to kiss you."

"You doubt if I'm an alpha?" Sasuke laughed. It was the sort of carefree, childish laugh that Naruto loved. "I'm twice your size and you still doubt me? Maybe if I could properly claim you, you wouldn't have such amusing doubts."

"You can't claim me but there are other ways you could show me…" Naruto's heart raced as he boldly skimmed his finger against Sasuke's lips.

Sasuke chuckled, "I want to kiss you too but what if I kiss you and my scent rubs off on you? You heard my brother, he wants to have you at all times of the day."

"I know," Naruto sighed. The playful lit in his tone dimmed, "but that's what baths are for right? I can get rid of your scent that way. Itachi-san loves me but I love Sasuke so there's no helping it."

"Don't look so sad when you declare your love for me, love." Sasuke kissed Naruto, his lips lingered as he savored the taste, "don't look so guilty either, it kills me."

"I can't help it, Itachi-san is such a good person, every time we're together he's at the back of my mind. I feel like I'm betraying him." Naruto looked down at his hands solemnly. "Itachi-san deserves better. It's like Ino said-there's thousands of other omegas who would be much better than me for him and they'd actually love him properly too!"

"Naruto," Sasuke sighed. He grabbed naruto's chin and forced his face up. "You love me right?"

"Yes, more than anything." Naruto confessed.

"Then there's no point in dwelling on betrayals or guilt, to sacrifice is to love someone and I'm willing to sacrifice everything for you. I love my brother but I can't let you go because I'm in love with you. As long as our emotions remain this way we have no choice but to betray Itachi. I'll sacrifice my love for my brother in order to be with you and you'll have to sacrifice your conscience in order to be with me. Itachi will never know and as long as he doesn't we can be together like this, alone."

"Alone?" Naruto repeated sadly, "yes, that seems like the only times we can express our love."

"Don't pout, there are many times we are alone. It won't be that bad." Even as Sasuke said the words he knew they were a lie. The only alone time he had with Naruto was at night during their training sessions and even that was only possible because they were breaking the rules. The small instances during the day that they managed to be alone were far too short, nothing of importance could be said or done. A quick kiss was all they could give each other before Konan would interrupt them and tell them that someone was coming.

"You're lying." Naruto's pout jutted out more as he sulked. "I hate it when Sasuke lies to me. "

"I'm sorry, love. I just don't want you to be sad about us not being together. "You belong to my brother, no matter how much I wish it Itachi will become your dominant. The time we spend together will be little but it will be enough. This is the only way."

"So this means that we'll have to continue sneaking around even after I marry Itachi-san?" Naruto inquired curiously.

"Yes, it does."

Naruto suddenly erupted into a fit of giggles, "imagine us sneaking around when I'm pregnant with Itachi-san's baby, I'll be so big, I don't think I'd be able to be as stealthy as I am now!"

"Don't speak of such things, I'd rather not be reminded of the fact that one day another dominant will have his seed inside you."

Naruto's expression softened. He wrapped his arms around Sasuke's neck and clung onto him as he gazed up at his face. "Sorry, no matter the alpha I'll always want only you."

Sasuke's smirked, "Your words are as sweet as that delicious scent of yours, it makes me want to eat you up." Sasuke closed the small space between them and kissed Naruto. He bit Naruto's tempting lips softly; loving the adorable whimpers it caused the blond to make.

"So this is where you've been, little brother?" Itachi's deep voice called out as he rode in their direction.

Sasuke quickly broke their lips apart and snapped his head in Itachi's direction. His face went pale with fear. He scooted back and put distance between him and Naruto to hide the traitorous kiss they had just been engaging in.

"See, I told you, Itachi-san." Ino said brightly when Itachi came to a stop in front of Naruto and Sasuke. "I can catch Sasuke-kun's scent from nearly anywhere." Ino announced proudly as if she possessed a great skill. "I did good right, Itachi-san?" Her thin fingers prodded questioningly at Itachi's chest.

"We've been looking for you." Itachi bit out, ignoring Ino's excessive flirtatious behavior. Itachi's eyes narrowed. "Naruto, your lips," Itachi pulled the reigns of his horse and steered it closer to Naruto and Sasuke. "Why do they appear swollen?" Their close proximity allowed Itachi to reach forward and grab Naruto's chin so he could twist Naruto's face up so he could see Naruto's lips more clearly.

Naruto's heart was hammering wildly in his chest. How could he be so careless! Naruto licked his lips self-consciously. They were still tingling from all the little bites Sasuke had given them.

As Naruto searched his mind for a lie that would answer Itachi's question the rest of the royals arrived. Ten-ten was on the verge of shouting out to Itachi to catch his attention when the tense atmosphere between Naruto and Itachi suddenly became obvious to her. She motioned for Kiba to halt the horse and the rest of the royals followed suit.

"What's happening?" Ten-ten whispered to Kiba who was sitting behind her.

"How am I supposed to know?" Kiba muttered moodily in reply. "Is this really why you made me stop? Pathetic submissive."

Ten-ten ignored Kiba's insult. She was too busy trying to determine what was happening. Naruto looked anxious, like he was on the verge of tears.

"You're brother looks like he's about to throw up." Shikamaru observed.

"Or like he just got caught." Karin muttered. A knowing smirk was plastered on her face as she observed Naruto.

Ten-ten glanced at Karin but said nothing. What could she possibly mean by "caught"?

"Answer me." Itachi growled. His fingers tightened on Naruto's chin. "Why are your lips swollen?"

"...I I-"

"He fell," Sasuke interjected hurriedly.

"Fell?" Itachi repeated skeptically.

"Yes, I fell." Naruto chorused, "Sasuke-kun was riding too fast and I fell, I accidentally bit my lip as I tumbled to the ground. I'm fine though, Itachi-san shouldn't be too angry!"

"I told you to take care of my betrothed, Sasuke!" Itachi yelled heatedly.

"I know. I'm sorry I was so careless." Sasuke bowed in apology. His heart was thumping wildly in his chest. He couldn't believe Itachi had bought the lie so easily. Of course he bought it, Itachi has no reason to doubt or suspect you since he knows that you'll never lie to him. Sasuke's conscience yelled at him. Sasuke flinched at the sheer ferocity of the voice. It spoke the stinging truth. His brothers unflinching trust would never waver as long as he didn't know.

"Don't let it happen again. I expect you to take care of Naruto, not hurt him." Itachi reprimanded. The disappointment in his voice was thick. In the past it would've stung Sasuke to hear his brother use such a tone with him but now Itachi being disappointed with him was the least of his worries.

"From now on I will try hard to do that, brother. I'm sorry."

Itachi sighed, "I'm sorry if I'm acting crazy, it's not like me to get angry with you." Itachi ruffled Sasuke's hair as if he were a little kid. "Whenever it comes to my betrothed I just feel on edge, forgive me?"

"Of course." Sasuke grinned; the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "I completely understand. Naruto is the type of submissive who you can't help but be a little crazy about."

"That's exactly right." Itachi laughed at Sasuke's keen explanation. He was completely naïve of the double meaning of Sasuke's words.

* * *

"Yes, we have to be more careful, that can't happen again. It's a blessing that we didn't get carried away. If anyone had been riding close by and smelled your arousal we would've been caught."

"I know," Naruto agreed. He was extremely embarrassed by his lack of self control. He hid his face in his hands, "I told you already though, I can't help it when I'm around you," Naruto reached across and grabbed Sasuke's hand so he could hold it in his. He had been getting more and more comfortable with showing his desires although it still embarrassed him. "Sasuke-kun is such a strong alpha it makes my body want to be dominated by you."

"So, you see me as an alpha now? I thought I was too pretty to be one?" Sasuke teased playfully in an attempt to lighten Naruto's worried mind.

"I've always seen Sasuke as an alpha! Even when you were nine and still hadn't gone through the change I knew you'd be an alpha! I just think you're way too pretty, I don't see many alphas with faces as pretty as yours!" Naruto blubbered. His cherry cheeks turned even redder as he ecstatically tried to explain him self.

"Really? What about Gaara he's sort of pretty when you get past his personality?" Sasuke gleamed.

Naruto rapidly shook his head side to side, "No one's prettier than Sasuke."

"You liar," Sasuke laughed, "we both know you're prettier." Sasuke smirked at how flustered Naruto got over the simple compliment. "You're so pretty that I sometimes think you're a doll Kaguya has made just to enchant me, those blue eyes of yours and pouty pink lips…I'm convinced she made them especially just for me."

"Sasuke says crazy things." Naruto looked down at his and Sasuke's joined hands, "But maybe you're right because I feel like Kaguya made me just for you too. No one I've ever met has made me feel you do."

"I'm glad no one else I can." Sasuke asserted happily. Naruto's little hand in his felt so good. It was even better since Naruto had begun to emit his sweet arousal scent. "You really crave me don't you, Naruto? Even something as innocent as holding my hand has turned you on. How bad do you want me?" Sasuke questioned curiously. It felt like it was becoming easier and easier for Naruto to become aroused.

"I want you so bad that sometimes I dream about you doing things to me." Naruto confessed weakly. He bravely laid his hand flatly against the exposed flesh of Sasuke's sweaty chest. "I was never like this, even when I was in Whirlpool and deeply in love with you-I never had such dirty thoughts about you. But now," Naruto shyly trailed his hand down Sasuke's body until his hand laid over the covered hardness in Sasuke's lap. "I think about this all the time."

Sasuke growled. Naruto's innocent seduction was torture. He wanted to take Naruto's virginity right here and now in the training field underneath the blanket of stars. Naruto may have been becoming easier to arouse but Sasuke was also becoming weak to his impulse control. It was hard to deny Naruto what his body so desperately wanted. The mere thought of naruto having sexual dreams about him made Sasuke control waver.

"You want this inside you?" Sasuke thrusted his hips up and rubbed his erection up against Naruto's little palm.

Naruto nodded as a blush bloomed across his cheeks. His hand began to tremble; he had never felt an alphas hardened length before. It was a strange foreign feeling. All he had ever done with Sasuke was kissing. The thing underneath his palm felt painfully hard and so big. Were all alphas this big? He wanted to see it. "I want it." Naruto panted.

"Good, because I want nothing more than to give it to you," Sasuke moved his hips slowly so that Naruto could savor the feel of his hardness against his hand. "I want to see your pretty thighs spread open just for me as I thrust into you," Sasuke thumbed Naruto's pink lips then thrusted his finger into Naruto's mouth. "God, Naruto I want you so bad, I'm tempted to just fuck you right here."

"Do it." Naruto moaned as he sucked Sasuke's fingers eagerly. His own arousal had begun to cloud his thoughts. This would be the perfect day since Konan had agreed to not come along and watch over him train.

"You'd really forsake your purity just for me? You've saved it your whole life just for my brother but you'd willingly give me the honor of deflowering you right here in this dirty field without even the dignity of a bed?"

"Yes~" Naruto kissed Sasuke's lips, "It's never been Itachi-sans to take, I've always wanted you to be the one to take it."

"May Kaguya forgive me but I don't think I can resist such a tempting offer," Sasuke grabbed Naruto and laid him on his back, he parted Naruto's legs and was about to lean down when the unmistakable sound of feet walking on grass shattered the mood.

Sasuke stood up, blocking Naruto from the hooded figure walking towards them.

"Who are you?" Sasuke called out tensely.

"So this is where you've been sneaking off to at night?" Karin smirked as she took off her hood, revealing her familiar head of bright red hair. "I knew you were up to no good, look at you brother, parting your legs for a man who isn't even your alpha, what would father say if he knew his little princess was such a slut? I don't think you'd be his favorite anymore." Karin sang happily as if she were delivering good news.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto peered around Sasuke. "How did you know!"

"Oh, is that a serious question?" Karin laughed, "your crush on Sasuke is beyond obvious, I've known you my whole life, you're easy for me to read. Every night at dinner you make faces at him when you think no one is looking, you're always eager to see him, whenever you know Sasuke will be there for dinner you wear your most extravagant kimonos...and then today your lips were obviously swollen because you were kissing him. I'm no fool like Itachi, I can see past your pretty face and see all of your lies." Karin smiled menacingly, "you were careless. I knew my assumption was correct when I went to your bedroom these past few days and you weren't there so I decided to wait today and followed you here, you practically led me to your shameful little secret."

"So now you know what do you plan to do?" Sasuke hissed.

"There's lots of things I can do, I mean come on you both must know how big of a scandal this? You're breaking so many rules, if I report what I saw tonight to your father he might question if Naruto is still even pure and we both know once that happens my idiot of a father will get offended and most likely declare war against the Uchiha clan. Or maybe I can have your bitch of a handmaiden hanged for keeping this a secret for you, or maybe I can tell a marvelous lie about how you forced yourself on my poor helpless little bother and how I had to save him from you, eh, Sasuke?" Karin grinned.

"I won't let that happen." Naruto stood in front of Sasuke and got into a fighting stance. "I won't let anyone-including you big sister, harm Sasuke! If I have to kill you here I will!"

"Hah? You kill me!" Karin bursted out into a hysteric laughing fit, "what can a princess like you do to me? You're nothing but a doll, every jutsu you've ever learned I know how to do them and much better than you! Fighting is the one thing you will never beat me at, face it I've already won!"

Naruto materialized a whirling blue ball of energy in his hand, "Don't be so cocky, Karin. I'm an Uzumaki just like you, I have senju blood running through my veins, I'm not as weak as you treat me!"

"A princess trying to be a warrior! This is laughable, you're finally standing up to me but it's useless, you can't beat me alone!"

"Who said I'd do it alone?" Naruto threw a secretive glance at Sasuke. The swirling ball began to catch on fire; it turned into a hybrid of a fire and air ball.

"Since when can you control fire?" Karin glared. "It's no matter, I'll still beat-"

Karin abruptly flopped to the floor, like a heavy sack of rice her body slumped to the ground. Her wide watery red eyes stared unblinking ahead of her like she was awake but unable to move.

"Thank you." Naruto rasped. His breathing was hard due to the physical exertion of having to contain so much fire in such a small ball. It was lucky that Sasuke had been able decipher what he had really wanted him to do. He hadn't been asking Sasuke for his fire but for his sharingan. "The sharingan is the only thing I could think of that could win against Karin."

Sasuke's spinning red eyes slowly stopped. He clutched his right eye in pain. Karin was much harder to trap than he had thought. From her appearance alone he would've never guessed that she was near Itachi's level of strength.

"I erased her mind of this entire night, she's too strong so I can't erase that she knows about us but at least she won't remember anything that happened here." Sasuke glared down at Karin's stiff body. "She'll keep her suspicions but that's about it."

Naruto looked away as Karin began to drool, her hand was twitching and her eyes continued to look dead ahead. He had never seen his sister in such an undignified state. It was like she was dead.

"We'll have to be more careful from now on, if anyone else finds out it'll be the end of everything."

Naruto nodded dejectedly. The little time he and Sasuke had together already felt like so little and now he'd have to spend even less time with him. It wasn't fair. Sasuke had said that loving someone was sacrificing but it still wasn't fair to have to sacrifice this much. In fact, it was utterly and entirely cruel. Like Kaguya was laughing in their face for betraying Itachi.

* * *

"Yesterday was fun, I want to do it again!" Ino sang enthusiastically. Her icy eyes shone with excitement.

The royal heirs were gathered in a sunny tearoom. Since Ino, Ten-ten, and Kiba had stayed as guest last night they were having breakfast before they embarked on the long journey back to their own clan territories later in the day. It was very awkward though since none of the royals were actually friends.

"I've never seen you this excited, especially this early in the morning, it's gross." Kiba snorted as he stuffed a slice of glazed pork into his mouth.

"Shut up, you mutt!" Ino shrieked. Her usually pale cheeks turned bright red. "You're the only gross one here! Watching you inhale your breakfast is disgusting! I pray for whoever the poor submissive is who will have to marry you!"

"Leave her alone," Sakura smiled snidely, "She's enthusiastic because she wants to ride with Itachi-san again. It must've been paradise for you yesterday huh, Ino? You can't stop thinking about how Itachi-san held your waist so you wouldn't fall off the horse, it was probably the most intimate you've been with a dominant in your entire life."

"Shut your mouth you wannabe queen!" Ino hurled her teacup at Sakura's face. It missed completely and shattered into hundreds of pieces on the tearooms wooden floor. A maid immediately scurried to clean up the mess the royal had made.

"What do you mean by 'wannabe'? I am a queen." Sakura grinned pompously, "I'm married to Sasuke Uchiha and the baby growing inside of me will become king of my clan. I am a queen in every sense of the word."

"Yeah you may be a queen to the Haruno clan but here in Uchiha territory you're a princess just like me!" Ino said snidely, "And besides there's no honor in birthing a regent." Ino gasped. She clasped her hand over her mouth, "I didn't mean to say that! It slipped out!"

The tearoom was immediately encapsulated in an awkward silence. A regent was one of the worse insults to give to a royal child. A regent was a royal child who would rule over his mother's clan instead of his fathers. Ruling over the mother's clan was seen as a humiliating privilege. It meant that the child was either too weak to rule his fathers clan or there was already another royal child before him that would rule his fathers clan. In Sakura's case she had married Sasuke who himself was a regent; his son therefore would also be a regent. It was known that Sasuke was a regent and thus by extension so was Sakura's unborn baby-but it was taboo to say so out loud, especially in Uchiha territory.

"I don't care if my child is a regent! He will be the thing that makes Sasuke-kun love me!" Sakura shrieked hysterically. She stood and tried to throw the teeming hot teapot at Ino but she was held back by Ten-ten.

"Sakura please calm yourself, she said she didn't mean it. You're pregnant, getting this angry isn't good for the baby." Ten-ten grabbed Sakura's hand and forced her to put the hot teapot back down on the table.

"Yeah, listen to her! I didn't mean it so calm down. You're making yourself look ridiculous. This is why I don't consider you a queen, a queen would never act this way." Ino flipped her hair over her shoulder in a dismissive manner.

"You have that logic and yet you still insist that you're a submissive?" Kiba chuckled, amused by the whole situation. "Having breakfast with you submissves is truly entertaining."

"Shut up, you dog!" Sakura and Ino both yelled in unison. They glanced at each other, surprised by the unintended togetherness.

They laughed, Sakura sat back down and sipped at her still full teacup. Her jade green eyes remained full of anger but she said nothing else to Ino.

Naruto was at a loss for words. He knew that royal submissives in Fire Country would be nothing like the royal omegas in Whirlpool Country. Not only were the names different but almost everything else was completely different too. They were absolutely crazy. He didn't know what a regent was but judging from Sakura's reaction it was a very bad thing. If it was such a horrible thing then how could she let Ino's insult go just because they said something in unison? This was why Naruto had chosen to stay quiet all throughout breakfast. He didn't understand or fit in with these type of omegas.

"Good morning." Itachi greeted as he entered the tearoom. Sasuke trailed in behind him. They were both sweaty and there was some dirt on their clothes. Naruto's mood instantly brightened when he saw Sasuke's face. He loved those beautiful obsidian eyes so much. They had the power to control him into any mood they so desired. Plus seeing Sasuke when the sun was still out always made him happy since it was so rare.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura bolted up and ran to her husband's side. "You're so filthy, how was your spar against Itachi-san?" Sakura hooked her arm through Sasuke's.

"It was interesting," Sasuke scowled, "we had an unexpected sparring partner join us."

"Who? Oh…" Sakura as well as everyone else in the tearoom turned to the person who had just walked in.

"You sparred with Itachi-san and Sasuke-kun?" Sakura gaped.

Naruto involuntarily gasped. He hadn't seen Karin since the showdown last night in the clearing. It was somewhat terrifying to see her again. The image of her twitching and drooling on the ground was still vivid in his memory.

Karin smiled, her thin lips stretched until they resembled a cheshire cat's iconic off putting grin. "Of course I did, I had to see for myself how strong my little brothers future alpha is." She trailed her red eyes to Sasuke and then smirked, it was noticed only by Naruto. It was a clear sign that when she had said "future alpha" she wasn't referring to Itachi. It was just like Sasuke had said, her memory of last night was wiped but she still had her suspicions.

"What was all that yelling about just now? I could hear it from down the hall." Itachi asked. He was completely unaware of the silent dilemma transpiring between Karin and Naruto.

"Oh, that." Ino blushed, "It was-"

"It was nothing!" Sakura cut in.

Itachi raised his perfect eyebrow in suspicion, "Kiba, you were here, was it really nothing?"

Kiba laughed, "These submissives scream about everything," His brown eyes glanced at Ino, the words you owe me were practically imprinted on his tan face, "Yes, they're telling the truth, it was nothing."

"Good, I was worried something had happened to my betrothed," Itachi eyes bled to red, "If something had I'd have to punish the one responsible."

Kiba gulped. He immediately regretted lying.

"Come here, little one, let me hold you to make sure that nothing really has happened to you."

Naruto rose. He walked the short distance to Itachi. Itachi looked over Naruto's body and then deactivated his sharingan. After that he encircled his arms around Narutos waist. "If anyone were to ever bring you harm I'd kill them, when I heard that scream I thought it was you, I was angry at the thought that someone had dared to bring you harm. You're mine, no one can hurt what belongs to me."

"Yes, I know Itachi-san. Your protection makes me feel so safe." Naruto said hollowly.

The royals watched the open display of affection. Sasuke tried to not let his brother's words of ownership bother him. He knew Naruto only belonged to his brother by law, emotionally and physically Naruto was all his. But despite knowing that it was hard to control his dominant urges to proclaim Naruto as his. This was unfortunately one of the many things he'd have to sacrifice.

"You might snap Naruto's waist in half if you hug him any longer Itachi-san." Ino said jealously. She glared at Itachi's muscular arms around Naruto's waist.

Itachi chuckled, "You might be right, I can't control myself around him. I want to dominate him so bad that I forget my own strength."

Ino turned her eyes away. "That sounds dangerous."

"It's okay Itachi-san, you weren't hurting me." Naruto said quietly. He allowed Itachi to continue holding him. This was the least he could do. He was already betraying Itachi-san so even if Itachi's touching felt wrong Naruto would allow him to do as he pleased.

"You look a bit uncomfortable, princess." Karin leered teasingly. "Like you want to get away from Itachi and jump into someone else's arms."

Naruto stiffened. "I'm perfectly comfortable in my alpha's arms, sister. Perhaps you should have our clan healer take a look at your eyes when you go back, we can't have the future ruler of Whirlpool have such poor eyesight."

Sasuke stifled a laugh.

"Why would you say such a thing?" Itachi asked, curious by Karin's seemingly out of nowhere comment. "Naruto loves it when I shower him in affection."

"Oh, no reason. It was just a little joke between me and my little brother, right Naruto?"

"Yes." Naruto murmured.

"Anyways," Kiba stood up, "Are we still going to Haruhiko to get our swords sharpened, the carriage to take me back to my clan territory is supposed to arrive in like two hours."

"I almost forgot about that." Itachi reluctantly let Naruto go; "I'll see you tonight at dinner, little one."

Naruto bowed and allowed Itachi to kiss the back of his hand.

"Let's let the submissives finish their breakfast in peace, why don't you accompany me, my brother, and Kiba to Haruhiko's, Karin?"

"Sure, should be fun." Karin grinned. "I could go for a sword sharpening," she smirked at Sasuke, "You never know when you might need it."

The dominants left and as soon as they did the atmosphere in the room completely changed.

"Sit down Naruto, breakfast is far from over." Ino patted the empty seat next to her. Naruto didn't like the cunning look in her eyes.

It reminded him of his sister.

Naruto cautiously sat down next to the Yamanaka princess. He had wanted to leave as soon as Sasuke left. These strange omegas were not people he enjoyed being with. The only one who he could see himself forming any type of meaningful bond with was ten-ten.

"So, Naruto, since it's just us submissives here lets have a chat." Ino proposed but it sounded more like a demand.

"Okay." Naruto retorted. It was obviously not an option, there would be a "chat" whether Naruto agreed or not.

"How are you feeling?" Ino quipped.

"What do you mean?" Naruto didn't understand what she was getting at. At the moment he felt slightly annoyed because he wanted to leave but couldn't. He couldn't tell her that though because it'd be rude. "Do you mean how I feel right now?"

"Are you daft?" Ino rolled her eyes, "your wedding is right around the corner, how are you feeling? You must be nervous to get married to Itachi-san, right? Anyone would be nervous if they were marrying a perfect dominant like Itachi-san!" Ino slammed her bony thin hand against the tea table. "Do you even understand how lucky you are? If I were you I'd be a nervous wreck!"

"Umm," Naruto didn't know what to say. He wasn't nervous he was more like dreading it. After the wedding so much would change.

"I'm-"

"-because if you're not nervous you should be!" Ino added, rudely cutting Naruto off. "Everything changes after a wedding ceremony, you will no longer be an innocent submissive."

"Stop scaring him, Ino." Ten-ten chided. "It's mean."

"I'm not trying to be mean!" Ino's right eye twitch. A habit she obtained whenever she was lying. "I'm trying to warn him! I heard it hurts a lot if you know what I mean, it's not called popping the cherry for nothing!"

"Ino!" Ten-ten yelled in horror, "what are you saying, you shouldn't speak of such things!" Ten-ten nervously glanced around as if the tearoom walls had ears and had heard Ino's crude words.

"Oh calm down, you're acting even worse than Hinata. There's no one else here but us," Ino looked pointedly at the maids standing at attention at the back of tearoom, "well, no one else of importance than us." Ino rectified.

"Still...we shouldn't speak of such things. It's not right. Naruto-chans v-v-v-"

"Virginity?" Ino chuckled.

"Yes!" Ten-ten blushed. "His you know what is none of our concerns!"

"Ten-ten how old are you?" Ino asked blandly.

"Thirteen." Ten-ten answered quickly.

"Wow, you act so mature I thought-" Ino shook her head, "anyways, you're already thirteen, you've been a submissive for three

years already, in four years time you'll most likely have a betrothed and will lose your virginity to him. When that time comes will you want to go to your wedding night blindly not knowing anything or what to expect or would you want your friends to tell you before hand?"

"I guess I'd like them to tell me..." Ten-ten admitted.

"See, it's not that scandalous! Naruto is already fifteen, he needs us to help him out so he can know what to expect."

"Oh I see." Ten-ten nodded. Her brown eyes still displayed uncertainty.

"That's why I'm worried about you Naruto," Ino turned her attention back to Naruto, she turned her lips down into a fake empathetic frown. "Itachi-san is a high level dominant, dominants of his level are known to be extremely ferocious in bed. Judging from the way he was holding you so tightly a few minutes ago I fear he might lose control when he's popping your cherry."

"Popping my cherry?" Naruto questioned, completely confused by the strange expression. He knew it was sexual judging by ten-ten and Ino's interaction but he didn't know exactly what the phrase meant.

"He's from Whirlpool, Ino, he's probably never even heard of the expression. It's probably phrased differently over there." Sakura snorted.

"Hmm, you're probably right..." Ino's eyes suddenly sparkled with enthusiasm, "oh I know I'll just show him what I mean." Ino grabbed one of the cherry tomatoes from the untouched plate of toppings. She held it up to Naruto's face, "imagine this is your virginity," she picked up a silver chopstick, "and this is Itachi-sans penis," Ino jammed the chopstick into the cherry tomato, the thin membrane of the vegetable broke apart and red tinted juice began to spew forth from the tomato, it ran down Ino's pale hand and dripped onto the shiny surface of the tea table. "Do you get it now? This is what Itachi-san will do to you?" Ino held up the completely destroyed cherry tomato, "He'll pop your cherry and you'll never be the same again."

"Oh..." Naruto now knew what Ino meant. He was terrified of the thought of Itachi doing that to him. Thinking of the pain was terrifying but what was even scarier was that it wouldn't be Sasuke inflicting that pain on him but Itachi-san. He wanted Sasuke to do it. The thought of anyone else was sickening. Tears began to slip from his eyes.

"You shouldn't cry, every submissive must go through this." Ino remarked broadly. She smiled triumphantly. This had been her intention all along. If she couldn't have Itachi-san then she'd scare the lucky submissive who did get to have him to the point of tears.

"It's probably not that bad, Ino doesn't know anything." Ten-ten comforted. She didn't like seeing Naruto crying. "It wasn't as rough as Ino described was it Sakura?" Sakura was the only submissve in the tearoom who had already had her cherry popped so Ten-ten turned to her for the truth.

Sakura sat up cockily. This was her moment to get back at Naruto for embarrassing her last time.

"Actually Ino is pretty accurate."

Ino gasped, slightly surprised by Sakura's agreeing. She schooled her face into a confident smirk as if Sakura agreeing her was meant to happen.

"When Sasuke-kun popped mine it was excruciating. But after the first time it gets better, it even starts to feel good. Your whole body changes, you'll understand once Itachi-san is done with you." Sakura said as if she were an esteemed expert on sexual intercourse.

"Was Sasuke-kun gentle with you?" Ten-ten asked shyly.

Sakura's confident attitude dropped. Her reaction was more than an answer but despite that she sat up and boldly lied, "Yes, Sasuke-kun is always gentle, he takes so much care of me. You wouldn't believe it since Sasuke-kun is so moody but sometimes when he's inside me he professes his love for me."

"No way?" Ino squealed. She abandoned her mean spirited plan of trying to psyche Naruto out in favor for learning the juicy details of Sakura's love life.

"Mhmm, he does it all the time lately since I'm carrying his child." Sakura babbled.

"Wow, I would've never thought that since he treats you so meanly." Ten-ten said suspiciously. She really didn't believe it, hadn't Sakura just said earlier when she was yelling at Ino that her baby was going to be the thing that made Sasuke love her? Which meant that currently Sasuke didn't love her. Ten-ten decided to not voice her suspicions. It'd just end up with Sakura getting angry with her.

"Since he professes his love to you soooo much do you think he'll be giving you his last name anytime soon? If not then I doubt he actually even cares about you." Ino said mockingly.

Sakura panicked at the question but then quickly recovered. "Yes, I'm sure of it. I think he'll give me it after Itachi-san's wedding." Another lie, but no one had to know.

"You're so lucky Sakura." Ten-ten laughed. Sakura was definitely lying, it was a bit sad that she had to lie like this, she hoped that when she got married her dominant actually loved her so she wouldn't have to make a fool of herself the way Sakura was right now.

"Maybe I can even get Sasuke-kun to bite my neck and give me a mating mark," Sakura's green eyes narrowed. She smiled cockily at

Naruto. "Then we'll be real mates, right Naruto?"

"Of course." Naruto bowed his head and looked angrily down at his folded hands. A million thoughts were going through his head but the most prevailing one was did jealously always feel so horrible?

Why couldn't he be Sakura? Naruto wanted everything Sakura had. Naruto knew that he had the life that every submissive in Fire country coveted, he was betrothed to Itachi Uchiha and would become the sovereign of the Uchiha clan but he still yearned desperately for Sakura's lie. He wanted to be pregnant with Sasuke's baby, he wanted to be Sasuke's mate, and he wanted Sasuke to be his by law. There was only one thing that kept Naruto from completely submitting to the horrible feeling of jealousy and that was fact that he had something of Sasuke that Sakura would never have. He had Sasuke's love. Sakura could lie about it all she wanted but she would never have what belonged to Naruto. Sasuke's love was all his.

But that can change. A voice inside Naruto's head said in a stern voice. Ino said you'd change after you get married, Sasuke may fall out of love with you if that happens.

"Naruto-kun?"

"Huh?" Naruto came back to the reality.

"Ino asked if you'd like her to explain anything else for you." Ten-ten said cheerfully,

"Oh, no thank you."

"What were you thinking about? You looked so worried. You really shouldn't worry too much, I'm sure the wedding will go perfectly!"

"Yeah." Naruto forced a smile. "I'm sure you're right, Ten-ten-chan." For the rest of breakfast Naruto remained silent.

* * *

"It's a good thing that balcony is there."

Naruto bolted up. He was wide-awake, patiently waiting in bed for the midnight hour to strike. It was the time he usually snuck out his room to go to the clearing to go meet Sasuke. Waiting tonight had felt twice as long as usual so he was overjoyed that Sasuke was suddenly in his room.

"What are you doing here? Its barely ten!" Naruto whispered urgently. He gathered the silk sheets to his chest until none of his body was visible. He was only wearing a semi translucent night slip. Naruto didn't get dressed for training until around 11:30 when he was sure no one was awake, until that time he laid in bed dressed in his standard night slip just incase someone did come.

"Yes, what are you doing here, Lord Uchiha?" Konan glared as she walked into the room carrying a candle. It illuminated her pale face in an eerie light, her gold eyes almost looked demonic. "My master still has two hours before he was supposed to meet you."

"Yes, I know." Sasuke chuckled at Konan's attempt to be intimidating, "But I wanted to change it up tonight."

Konan rolled her eyes, "Lord Uchiha, this is not a joking matter. This is already the second time you've come into my master's sleeping chambers uninvited. Please just leave until the allotted time or else I'll have to remove you myself. "

"You're a submissive aren't you Konan? Do you really think you stand any chance against a dominant like me?" Sasuke laughed, "I find it funny that you think you can."

"I'm not a submissive I'm an omega, and yes I know I stand no chance against you but I also know that I'm not as weak as you perceive me to be so I if I ever have to fight you I'm sure I'll at least cause enough damage to wound you." Konan raised her hand, a paper butterfly materialized in the palm of her hand. "So, will you be leaving willingly or will I have to use force?"

"You're feisty aren't you and also extremely confident in your abilities, huh? I like that, it means Naruto's parents were wise to chose you as his guard." Sasuke praised. His attempt to butter up Konan was ineffective, if anything Sasuke's praising seemed to make her even angrier. Two more butterflies appeared in Konan's palm.

"I'll give you to the count of three before I-"

"Okay fine." Sasuke scowled, " I'll be honest the reason I came here is because I wanted to tell Naruto that I don't think we should train tonight, after what happened with Karin I think it'd be better if we skip today."

"Oh," Konan faltered. The three paper butterflies crumpled up until they disappeared. "That's actually a very wise idea. Thank you for thinking about my master's safety. Now that you've told him you should go, lingering here isn't a wise idea."

"But training is the only time we can be together!" Naruto cried out. He couldn't believe Sasuke was willing to get rid of their only time together just because of Karin. He had wanted to be alone with Sasuke all day, especially after that horrible breakfast he was forced to sit through with all the other so called omegas.

"I know, love." Sasuke smiled sadly, "but it's like I told you, we have to be more careful from now on, we can't have anyone else finding out."

"B-but, that's-I miss you, you can't just expect me to give up the only time I can be with you!" Naruto whispered hurriedly. He was on the verge of tears. The diamond droplets were already glistening in his blue eyes. "Don't go!"

"I miss you too but we have to sacrifice if we don't want to get caught. I have to go." Sasuke's hand twitched, he wanted to reach out and comfort Naruto but he knew if he did his will would crumble and he'd end up staying. "I'll see you tomorrow, love."

"D-don't go!" Naruto yelled. It was a silent scream. So desperate that it tore Sasuke's heart in half.

"Please don't go, if we can't train today then stay with me tonight." Naruto sat up and attempted to get out of bed but Konan hurried over and forced him to lie back down.

"I won't allow you to get up with the way you're dressed now. Forgive me master but your attire is not appropriate for an alpha that isn't your mate to see you in."

"Let me go, Konan!" Naruto tried to pry Konan's arms away. "I don't care about that! Let me go to Sasuke!"

"I'm sorry but no. Lord Uchiha is right, he needs to go."

"Let go of me!" Naruto hissed. His tears began to spill from his eyes. In his blurred vision he could see Sasuke walking back to the open window he had climbed through earlier to get into the room. "Don't leave me!" Naruto tried his hardest to get out of Konan's vice like grip but his body was becoming weak. "Sasuke!" Naruto screamed as loud as he could. "Stay with me!"

"Master, please keep your voice down!" Konan murmured heatedly, "your mother and father are right down the hall!"

"I'll scream again if Sasuke leaves me!" Naruto cried. He had lost all his ability to remain rational. Naruto knew that he was being dumb, if he screamed they would all get caught but he didn't care. He couldn't explain why he felt so irrational, he just had this primal worry in his mind that if Sasuke left tonight then he wouldn't ever get to see him again.

"Let him go." Sasuke sighed.

"But you can't-"

"I said let him go!"

Konan nodded solemnly and let her tight hold on Naruto go. As soon as she dropped her arms Naruto lurched off the bed and ran into Sasuke's arms. He tiptoed and grabbed Sasuke's face so that he could crash his lips against his.

"Don't ever do that to me again!" Naruto sobbed. "I need you. You can't just come in here and tell me something like that!"

"Sorry." Sasuke exhaled. He placed his hand on the small of Naruto's back where his long hair was and twined a strand of it around his finger. Playing with Naruto's hair was his futile attempt at trying to calm himself down. Seeing Naruto crying at the thought of him leaving hurt Sasuke. His submissive should never have a reason to cry so it pained him to know that he was the reason for the tears.

"I really was only trying to make a responsible decision. I didn't think you'd react this way. I had no intention of making you cry." Sasuke wiped the tears off Naruto's cheeks with his thumb. "

"So you're staying?" Naruto hiccupped. His watery blue eyes gazed up hopefully into Sasuke's obsidian ones.

"Yeah." Sasuke smiled. How could he say no to such a precious face. He picked Naruto up and carried him back to his bed and then gently put Naruto under his fluffy covers. "I don't want my first look at your body to be under these circumstances." Sasuke explained when Naruto threw him a confused look as he covered him up.

"I'll go stand guard outside." Konan announced. She couldn't do anything when her master cried the way he did. Even though it was against her better judgment it seemed Sasuke would be staying.

"Thank you, Konan." Naruto sniffled.

Konan bowed and then went outside.

Once Konan was gone Sasuke closed the small space between him and Naruto by getting underneath the covers and lying right next to him. Naruto laid his head on Sasuke's chest and silently listened to the calming sound of his heart beating. This is what he wanted and needed. Without Sasuke he couldn't achieve this sense of supreme bliss. How had he survived all these years without Sasuke? He loved Sasuke so much it made him feel crazy.

"You shouldn't cry over me like this." Sasuke sighed as he wiped away the new set of tears that had begun to leak from Naruto's red-rimmed eyes.

"It's Sasuke's fault! I really missed you and then you tried to leave me."

"I was trying to do the right thing we can't be so careless anymore."

"I know but," Naruto bit his lip as he recalled the horrid feeling that came over him when Sasuke was going to leave. "I need you, I haven't seen you since breakfast."

"It wasn't like I was leaving you forever, I would've seen you tomorrow, love. Your reaction is abnormal."

"I know that!" Naruto felt ridiculous just hearing Sasuke say that. He knew more than anyone that his outburst was weird. "But it didn't feel like that to me, it felt like if you left I'd never see you again!"

"I haven't even had you yet and you're already this attached to me, I have to say I like it. Is it a Whirlpool thing?

"No," Naruto blushed, "though omegas in Whirlpool do develop stronger bonds with alphas than they do here due to the mating ritual."

"Then if that wasn't the reason why did you react like that?"

"I'm scared Sasuke," Naruto's lips trembled as a more tears slipped from his eyes.

"What are you scared about? There's no one or anything that can ever harm you as long as you're in Uchiha territory. No one would

dare to lay a finger on you since you're Itachi's betrothed."

"I'm not scared of someone attacking me!" Ino's words replayed in Naruto's head. 'You should be nervous…you'll never be the same again.' "I'm scared of the wedding, it's so close! Even though you said we'd still be able to spend time together after the wedding I know that we won't! When you and Itachi-san left the tearoom Ino told me something. She said that Itachi-san would claim me and then after I'd never be the same. If that's true then we need to be together as much as possible before I change into someone else! You won't like me after I change!"

"You shouldn't listen to anything Ino says, she's a stupid submissive who thinks she knows everything," Sasuke snarled, "You will change I'll admit she got that right but my love for you will not diminish just because of that. I've loved you since I was a boy, another dominant claiming you before I can hurts but it wont change how I feel about you so no more crying okay. We will have time to be together after the wedding, even if I have to forsake my duty as a father I'll find time to be with you."

Naruto nodded. He desperately wanted to believe what Sasuke was saying but he just couldn't. After the wedding he'd have to sleep in Itachi's sleeping chambers so he wouldn't be able to sneak out anymore and soon Sasuke would be a father to Sakura's baby so he wouldn't be able to come over to the Uchiha palace at all during the day. There were so many things that would disallow them from spending any time together. Naruto kept his mouth shut and allowed Sasuke to kiss him. Maybe if he stayed silent then he could gullibly convince himself that this was all a dream and when he woke up Sasuke would be his mate and the wedding with Itachi was nothing but a figment of his imagination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Itachi's duel against Neji will take place next chapter and also the wedding! I can't say this enough but thank you to all of you who review and fav and just thank you for all the love! Mpreg is my fav fanfic genre and fem naru is my fav trope so I'm literally so happy many of you like this too (^3^) so thank you for all the love and support! Even the flamers!


	5. You Belong To Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uchikake: Is the over coat that goes over a Kimono. It is extremely formal and is usually heavily brocaded.
> 
> Hiyoku: Is the second layer of the Kimono. It's basically the pretty lining you see on the collar.
> 
> Juban: The last layer of the Kimono. It's the last collar.

"I heard the news that the Hyūga heir challenged you to a duel, is this true Itachi?" Kushina Uzumaki commented. Her eyes were on the future alpha of her only son.

For the past few weeks that Kushina had been staying in the Uchiha palace she had learned some unsavory things about her sons future family. They did things that didn't make sense to her. For instance omegas weren't allowed to learn combat here. It was practically expected of all royal Uzumaki omegas and alphas to learn how to fight but here only the alphas were allowed to. Omegas weren't allowed to do much of anything here, it bothered her. She couldn't imagine handing over her son to such a strict clan. Her baby was a free spirit at heart and she couldn't envision him being a part of such a serious family like the Uchihas. When she had come five years ago she should've paid more attention to how omegas were treated here instead of scoping out what kind of alpha Itachi was.

"Yes, I accepted the challenge, he disrespected Naruto by making a crude pass at him. I have to defend Naruto's honor."

"Wouldn't it make more sense for Naruto to fight Neji himself since he was the one to be disrespected." Kushina countered.

A stunned silence fell over the dinner table. Mikoto's draw dropped open.

"What nonsense is your submissive spouting, Minato!" Fugaku roared.

"I said why doesn't Naruto fight instead of Itachi?" Kushina repeated, unbothered by Fugaku's anger.

"Have you lost your mind? A submissive can't fight, are you insinuating that you don't trust Itachi to fight for your son?" Fugaku seethed.

"I never said that, I'm sure Itachi is very capable-"

"Kushina, enough!" Minato belted. He could see that Kushina had no intention on backing down and Fugaku was getting angrier and angrier by the second. They were in a foreign land and this was the family that they'd be entrusting their son to when they left back home. As much as he despised Fugaku and as much as he admired Kushina's bravery to speak her mind, it was unwise to anger the Uchiha's.

"Forgive my wife, she's been experiencing a bit of culture shock. She's still getting accustomed to the rules of your clan. She meant no disrespect." Minato explained.

"I suggest you learn to act more like a submissive and then our ways won't seem as shocking to you." Fugaku glared at the red headed queen.

"I'll take your words into consideration." Kushina said through tight lips.

"Lady Kushina, I understand that our clan is very different from yours but fighting for a submissive here is considered a top honor, I didn't mean any offense." Itachi spoke like the future king he was, full of authority and power. "I accepted Neji's duel because Naruto-" Itachi held Naruto's hand and kissed the back of it. "Is a submissive worth fighting for. He is the one who will bear my children, no one in Fire Country will disrespect my submissive and get away it."

Sasuke was burning with jealousy. He wanted to snatch Naruto away from his brother's arms. He was the one Naruto loved so he should've been the one to fight for Naruto's honor. He knew Naruto could take care of himself but still; it was what fighting for submissive represented. If a dominant fought for a submissive it meant that the submissive was theirs. It was like telling all of the dominants that if they messed with that submissive then they'd have to deal with them as well. Sasuke wanted to be that person for Naruto. Sasuke sighed. He resigned his anger by reminding himself that sacrificing like this was necessary for him and Naruto to be together. All he could do was allow the submissive he loved to be protected by someone who wasn't him.

"My son will fight for Naruto and he will win. Your son will watch from the sidelines and support him like a good submissive should and then after that we will resume with the wedding preparations. Your son is now part of the Uchiha clan, as his mother I suggest you learn our ways before you spout disrespectful nonsense."

Kushina's face turned as red as her hair. She was fuming with anger. Fugaku was right; this was the clan she had chosen for her baby. Whether she liked it or not her son was going to be an Uchiha. She'd give anything to go back and choose again because everyday she stayed with these people she realized that her son deserved better.

* * *

"You're strong." Sasuke said in amazement. "Maybe your mother was on to something, you could probably beat a low level dominant with that thing."

"I told you I was much stronger than I looked." Naruto grinned as the perfectly formed ball of air swirled around in the palm of his hand.

"Does that jutsu have a name? I've never seen anything like it before? Every time I see it, it amazes me."

"It's called a rasengan. It's a compressed ball of air infused with chakra. It's kind of like a little tornado in the palm of my hand. My sensei taught it to me when I was twelve amongst other things..." Naruto trailed off. He lost his train of thought due to the way Sasuke was looking at him.

"You're amazing." Sasuke smiled in awe at the powerful little submissive that he was in love with.

"This is a simple rasengan, my people can do this effortlessly!" Naruto's heart beat raced when Sasuke drew closer to observe the rasengan.

"That may be true but I bet no one in the Uzumaki clan is as beautiful as you and can also wield such a perfect rasengan."

Naruto's cheeks flamed red. "There are plenty more beautiful and more powerful omegas than me in Whirlpool Country, I'm nothing special."

"You shouldn't tell lies Naruto, the most beautiful submissive in the world stands before me, enchanting me with a whirling ball of air, you are special."

"Ehem," Konan cleared her throat.

Sasuke and Naruto came back to reality. They were on the balcony in Naruto's sleeping chambers and the moon was shining brightly in the night sky. They couldn't train like they used to but they still got together every night. They had been talking but had gotten caught up in each other again. It had been happening every night they were together for the past couple of days. Every time they were alone they ended up forgetting everyone and everything else, it was like they were in their own personal little bubble. They refrained from physical touching each other lately in fear that something like with what happened with Karin would happen again. It only heightened the intensity of all the little touches though.

"Perhaps we should retire early tonight, you have to be up early tomorrow morning to attend Itachi-san's duel." Konan advised.

"The duel!" Naruto yelled, "I forgot about it!"

"I predicted as much. You'll have to be up early tomorrow so I can bathe you and iron out your hair, lord Fugaku has ordered me personally to make you look extra beautiful tomorrow."

"I see," Naruto pouted. He didn't want Sasuke to leave so soon. "Will you be at the duel tomorrow too, Sasuke?"

"Of course I will, it'd be rude if I didn't support my brother, but I especially want to go just to see how 'extra' beautiful you'll look tomorrow." Sasuke teased.

"I'll see you tomorrow then." Naruto blushed. He closed his eyes and tiptoed.

The one thing that Naruto refused to change was there now customary goodbye kisses. All touching was off limits but Naruto would never give up kissing. Sasuke leaned down and met Naruto's lips with his own. Just like with all of their touches lately the kiss felt more intense than usual. Naruto quickly lost his breath and seconds later was forced to break the kiss so he could get air into his lungs.

"Such a delicate thing aren't you? Panting like that when all I've done is kiss you." Sasuke laughed. The deep melodic timbre of it made Naruto blush. "Good night, love." Sasuke grabbed Naruto's scarred cheeks and pulled his face up for one more final kiss, "I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

Duels in Fire Country were a spectacle to behold. They were a form of entertainment that anyone could watch and for that reason they were popular. Both royals and commoners alike would gather in a coliseum and watch the two duelist fight, some of these duels were to the death but those that involved heirs who couldn't be replaced weren't. Duels were fought for many different reasons. Some of them were for pure entertainment while others were for reasons like today's, a dominant was protecting his submissive's honor. But most duels were usually fought just for sport. The royals and other wealthy families watched the duels from boxes separated from the poorer people while the poor watched from below. The highest box in the coliseum was pure gold and was reserved for the emperor in the event that he attended, just like today.

Sasuke had been to many duels in his life time. To win a duel against a powerful adversary in front of so many people was considered an incredible honor. It was the epitome of showing everyone that you were a powerful dominant. Duels were never Sasuke's favorite thing to attend. Since The coliseum was in the capital of Fire Country it was extremely far from the Uchiha palace, it was a whole two days ride away which meant he had to sit in a stuffy carriage for two endless days just to see two people fight. Another thing Sasuke disliked about duels was that they were too crowded, even though he had the luxury of sitting in a separate space from the commoners, their presence still suffocated him. They were always so eager to see him, many would even grovel at his feet and throw offerings at him as if he were a king. It was even worse when he was with Itachi. If he was like a king then Itachi was like a god. The commoners worshipped him as if he were Kaguya herself. The most annoying thing about duels though was that Sasuke found them utterly boring. The last time he had come to one it had been when Kiba dueled the heir to the Akimichi clan, it had been so boring that he had actually fallen asleep. His shameful display of boredom had earned sasuke a two hour lecture on "acceptable uchiha conduct in public"by his father.

But despite all that today was different. His brother was fighting against Neji. Sasuke couldn't wait to see his brother beat Neji at his own game. The white eyed freak deserved to die for what he had said to Naruto. He still wished that he could've been the one to beat him but he was just happy that an Uchiha would be the one to deliver Neji's long over due beating.

"It's so cold Sasuke-kun hug me!" Sakura wailed. She was sitting next to Sasuke in a plush satin chair. Sasuke's parents along with Naruto's parents sat in front of them and there was one empty seat beside Sasuke where Naruto should've been sitting. He was late. Sasuke groaned. He wished Naruto was here to take the edge off, waiting for the duel to start with Sakura constantly whining in his ear was tortuous. It didn't help that Karin kept glaring at him either.

"If you're cold you should've brought an overcoat." Sasuke replied indifferently as he put distance between him and Sakura.

"But I didn't know it was going to be this cold!" Sakura griped as she snuggled closer to sasuke.

"Get off of me." Sasuke growled. He pushed Sakura away.

"Hug your wife!" Mikoto turned her head and glared at her son. "She's freezing and pregnant! At least act like you love her while we're in public."

Sasuke glared at his mother but eventually gave in. He loosely wrapped his arm around Sakura. His mother was on edge due to the anxious nerves she harbored over the duel. There was nothing he could tell her to make her calm down so it was just easier to do as his mother said. Not that he usually had a choice not too though.

"Thank you Sasuke-kun! Now I'm all warm~" Sakura beamed as she cocooned herself deeper into Sasuke's side.

"Whatever." Sasuke closed his eyes and counted down from ten to try to calm himself down before he physically assaulted Sakura. He got to six when he heard someone enter the room. His eyes flashed opened.

Naruto and Konan had walked in. Sasuke smirked at the sight of Naruto's attire. Konan had said that Naruto would be extra beautiful today but he hadn't expected it to be by this much. Naruto's blonde hair was silk straight and hung to the small of his back, a chain crown of rubies hung loosely around his head and fell delicately against his forehead. His kimono was pitch black except for the white under collar of his juban which would always remain white until Naruto was no longer a virgin. There were painted red roses and dragons on the bottom of the kimono and also on the long sleeves. His obi was a deep dark red and hanging from the black tassel around it was a golden Uchiha fan.

Seeing Naruto's beautiful face soothed Sasuke's irritation away. Naruto was stunning dressed in the Uchiha clan colors. It filled Sasuke with pride. His father had probably ordered Konan to dress Naruto like this so that everyone knew which clan Naruto belonged to.

Kushina appeared displeased as she regarded her sons appearance. Her distaste for the Uchiha clan colors seemed to be shared with her husband who was also regarding Naruto's attire with an unhappy grimace.

"Ah, Naruto-kun you made it!" Mikoto cheered. She peeled her nervous eyes away from the arena so she could greet her future son in law.

"Sorry for my tardiness." Naruto announced. The red rubies hanging around his head twinkled in the sunlight as he bowed. "Itachi-san requested that I stay downstairs in the dressing room with him until he was done changing."

"That's fine, there's no need to explain. Please sit, the duel is just about to start." Mikoto gestured to the empty seat beside Sasuke.

Naruto bowed again and then sat in the appointed seat. Konan stood dutifully behind him along with the other maids and guards who were on standby.

"You look lovely." Sasuke whispered to Naruto as soon as he sat down. "The Uchiha clan colors suit you so well."

"As does it suit your wife, Sasuke-kun." Naruto whispered back fervently. "She looks beautiful though a little underdressed, I'm happy that you can keep her warm." Naruto snapped quietly.

Sasuke blinked rapidly. Was Naruto...jealous? He had never heard Naruto use such an angry tone of voice before. Especially never directed at him. It was exciting to see a new layer of Naruto's personality.

"I wasn't given very much of a choice." Sasuke explained. He couldn't go into detail since they were surrounded by so many people. "I wish I was hugging you instead and kissing those cherry red lips of yours though." Sasuke whispered into Naruto's ear.

Naruto's face burned red but the stubborn pout remained. "When I kiss itachi-san's lips after his victory today I will tell you the same thing."

Sasuke growled. Naruto had said that on purpose just to rile him up. It was fine though, he liked how jealous Naruto was getting over him simply hugging Sakura because he knew submissives only showed jealously when they were feeling territorial.

"After you're done kissing Itachi I'll kiss you where no one can see us and you'll forget all about my brothers lips. I'll have you panting just from my kisses because we both know no one can satisfy you like me."

Naruto blushed harder. "I-I-"

"I think master should pay attention, your alpha is about to fight." Konan suddenly whispered. She flashed her eyes in Karin's direction who was openly watching the little scene between Naruto and Sasuke unfold.

Sasuke instantly understood. Konan was warning them. Sakura was too stupid to notice anything but Karin was smart. Even though Sasuke had been whispering low enough so that only Naruto could hear him Karin was still watching them like a hawk.

He flashed a fake smile at her. Her muscles bulged as she clenched her fists.

"The duel between Itachi Uchiha and Neji Hyūga will now be commencing."

The crowd erupted into cheers. Karin was forced to look away as was Sasuke. He sighed in relief, for a moment there he had actually thought Karin had heard them and was going to challenge him to a fight again.

Sasuke glanced down at the arena. He could see the tall figure of his brother and the Hyūga facing eachother. Across the coliseum the Hyūga family sat in a similar suspended box. Hinata's white eyes were glued on her brother. She looked like she was praying, her lips were moving quickly and her pale hands were held together.

Sasuke sent up a silent prayer to Kaguya too. His brother didn't need it, their mother had probably prayed all night long, but one more prayer couldn't hurt.

The fight began with Neji making the first move and ended with Neji giving the final blow.

No one had seen it coming but Neji Hyūga had won. The crowd had thought it was a trick at first, they all thought that Itachi was going to get up and finish off the Hyūga. They had never seen an Uchiha lose a duel. When a whole minute had gone by and Itachi was still face down in the pool of blood the duel was finally called off and Neji had been declared the winner.

Naruto was crying.

Mikoto was in tears.

Fugaku was in a silent rage.

And Sasuke...Sasuke was in disbelief.

* * *

One week later.

Itachi hadn't woken up since the duel. The best doctors from all over Fire Country had come to the Uchiha palace to try and treat him but his eyes remained closed. He was still breathing but that was it-he was like a vegetable, no amount of medicine or healing could fix him. Mikoto hadn't stopped crying. Her eyes were now constantly rimmed in red and puffy. Her tears had once been a rare sight but now it was even rarer to see her with dry eyes.

The wedding was understandably postponed. Practically every clan in Fire Country came to pay their respects to the fallen heir. Even the emperor himself came and personally delivered a dozen red roses to Mikoto for her loss. It was like holding a funeral for someone who wasn't dead wasn't bound to Itachi anymore but Sasuke still always found him in Itachi's room by his side. His mother was usually in there too. It pained him. His brother wasn't dead but it sure felt like it. The days went on and Sasuke wanted to scream.

* * *

"Your brother will probably never wake up, your mother is hopeful but even the doctors from the Haruno clan are skeptical, I've lost a son." Fugaku stated lifelessly. Sasuke's father was a very hardened man. He never showed emotion but right now Sasuke could see a sea of sadness in his fathers eyes. Itachi had always been his favorite.

"I don't know how he lost the duel, everything was going so well and then-" Fugaku paused. He shook his head as if he were clearing his head of the memory.

"I've called you into my study today for a very important reason, Sasuke."

Sasuke nodded. Of course he did, his father never talked to him unless it was something important.

"Now that your brother is...unable to perform his duties as the heir of our clan, you will now take over in his place."

Sasuke's mouth dropped open. "I-I-"

"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you that you are now the heir and future king of the Uchiha clan. I've already signed it into a contract and sent it to the emperor. From today onwards you are the heir."

Sasuke's mind was reeling. He never thought his father would ever appoint him heir. It had always been Itachi's birthright. He had grown up knowing that Itachi would one day be the ruler of the Uchiha clan and that he would always remain in the sidelines. He was born a regent and he expected to die one too.

"But I'm just a regent! How can I ever rule our clan?!"

"Do not ask me any more questions what is done is done. Your brother can't produce an heir in his condition so you will do it for him. It's that simple."

"So does this mean the child Sakura births will be the heir?"

"Don't make me laugh, that weak child growing inside of her will never be strong enough to rule a clan like ours, you will be taking over for your brother in every aspect. Which means that you will inherit his duties. Naruto is now your betrothed and the child he births will be the heir of our clan."

"That isn't in the contract!" Kushina roared. She banged her fist on the tea table. "Itachi is no longer fit to care for Naruto, my son is free from your clan! You can't just pair him with some other alpha! Not even if that alpha is your younger son!"

Kushina had thought that Itachi's injury meant that her baby was free from the burden of becoming an Uchiha. She was ready to pack up her family and go back to Whirlpool and forget all about the Uchihas but it seemed it wouldn't be so. She should've left the second Itachi lost the duel but Naruto had been adamant that he needed to stay by Itachi's side until everything was settled. When Fugaku had asked to speak with her and Minato to discuss the terms of the contract she had thought it was to discuss the dissolvement of it and not this!

"My wife is right, we signed your contract this wasn't part of it." Minato stated angrily.

"On the contrary, if you had read it more carefully you would've seen that on page 37 line 11," Fugaku snapped his fingers and a nearby butler opened a copy of the contract so that Fugaku could read from it "it says, in the event that the current heir is unable to perform his duty for whatever reason the next heir in line shall take his place." Fugaku finished monotonusly. "So yes, Naruto will be marrying Sasuke and you are contractually obligated to allow it to happen."

Kushina wanted to scream but all she could do was sit quietly and regret.

"Your son has been an Uchiha ever since you signed the contact five years ago, nothing you do or say now will ever change that. His senju blood will run in my grandchilds veins and he will be the most powerful child in existence."

"So that's what this has all been about!" Minato roared, "I've always known you had a greater reason for sending a marriage bid for Naruto, I never thought it'd be because of this!"

"Yes, lord Uzumaki, you've finally figured it out, congratulations." Fugaku said as he mockingly clapped his hands. "Your clan possesses a powerful bloodline, mixed with Uchiha blood it will double in power. You should feel flattered, practically every clan in the world wants to birth a royal Uchiha baby, your son will get the privilege of doing just that."

"You're lucky my son is going to be part of your clan," Minato snarled, "if he wasn't I'd slaughter you right now. I should just take Naruto with me!"

"Please calm down," Mikoto cut in. "my husbands reasoning may be underhanded but your son will be safe here. We are the strongest clan in Fire Country, you will eventually have to marry off your son so why not leave him here where you know he will be safe?"

"Fine, I will accept this but under one condition." Minato glared.

"Go on." Fugaku replied.

"Your younger son is already married and expecting a child. I can't have my son sharing an alpha with another omega. If you want Naruto then she must go."

"I can't do that, her father has already threatened to go to war if Sasuke doesn't remain married to her."

Minato sighed. He was trapped. He didn't want his son sharing an alpha but he also didn't want his son to live in a clan that was at war. He had no choice but to accept. "If that other pink haired omega must stay then my son must come first at all times and Sasuke can never have another child with her. I want the child growing inside her right now to be nipped before it can grow into anything resembling human. There are many powerful clans in Whirlpool who have asked for Naruto for their sons, you were never my first choice, however my son seems to like it here and that is the only real reason why I'm willing to surrender my son to you."

Fugaku nodded. The Uzumaki king had made this far too easy for him. If it weren't for the powerful senju blood in his veins, Fugaku would've lost all respect for the man."You have always been my first choice and for that reason what you have asked will be done."

* * *

_A month later._

The wedding was back on. Though the excitement of the old one was long gone, a sort of new and different excitement took its place.

The Uchiha clan had a new heir and soon they'd have a royal wedding as well. Commoners and royals alike were buzzing with excitement. The situation surrounding the new royal wedding was as scandalous as anything they had ever witnessed before. A regent had taken over as heir even though his brother wasn't dead yet. It was unheard of, as long as the first born dominant remained breathing they would always be the heir to their clans throne. It was tradition. The Uchiha family was one of the clans in Fire Country that upheld every tradition to the highest degree so the revelation that they had broken such a grand tradition was unbelievable. To make the situation even juicier the newly appointed heir would also be marrying the older brothers betrothed. It was pure lunacy, a dominants betrothed should never be handed around as if he were a piece of candy. And the cherry on top of the scandalous marriage, the new heir was already married and had a child on the way. It was so scandalous that it had inadvertently began the new wave of excitement. Everyone couldn't wait to see how things unfolded.

* * *

"I don't know how I'd survive if you weren't here." Sasuke said as he held Naruto's hand up to his lips. Naruto allowed him to do as he pleased. Even as Sasuke trailed kisses on the smooth skin on the inside of his arm and up to his neck, Naruto didn't stop him. Now that they were officially betrothed they didn't have to hide anymore. They still weren't allowed to be alone together though. The rules stated that unmarried royals weren't ever allowed to be alone together but regardless of that rule Naruto and Sasuke had slipped out the palace together without telling anyone. It hadn't been hard, it was now much easier to sneak around.

Ever since Itachi slipped into a coma things had changed around the palace. Mikoto was now always preoccupied with making sure Itachi was okay and the many maids and butlers were all too busy with preparing the palace for the wedding to worry about anything else. The only person who they had to be careful around was Karin. She had become more observant of everything they did. It angered Naruto, his sister was much too preoccupied with everything he did. He supposed it was just in her nature to bully him, she had always been that way. It was ludicrous how she could still focus on him when so many other more important things were happening. Like Itachi's defeat. Naruto didn't expect much sympathy from his sister, she had always been a heartless person, but she hadn't even visited Itachi once in the entire month that he'd been in a coma.

"Sometimes when I think about my brothers condition I get so sad I can barely breath but when I'm with you...I don't know...I feel so calm."

They were lying in the clearing they had used to train in all the time when they used to sneak out in the middle of the night just to see each other. Those nights seemed so far away now.

Naruto kissed the edge of Sasuke's jaw. The innocent little kiss instantly had a calming effect. Sasuke marveled at how Naruto could affect his mood so much. He had never thought he'd find a submissive that would actually be able to affect him on this emotional level. He grinned as a memory from the past flashed through his mind.

**Five years Ago**

Sasuke huffed as he sat on the hard wooden dojo floor. His mind was racing with the events of earlier that day. He had thought that some vigorous, all out, sparring with his annoying cousin would make his anger fade away but he was still fuming with anger. He grabbed a rock that was lying by his feet, which were hanging out the dojo sliding door and flung it angrily at a frog sitting underneath a daisy.

"You stupid frog, what are you staring at you bug eyed freak!" Sasuke screamed. The frog stood unblinking for few seconds then hopped away, completely unbothered.

"Okay, what's wrong?" Gaara demanded, annoyed by his cousins foul mood. "You've been acting extra grumpy all afternoon, you didn't even cheer up when I killed that annoying crow that kept following us with my sand coffin." Gaara took a seat next to his scowling cousin. He would've laid a comforting hand on Sasuke's shoulder but he knew that it would only anger sasuke even more.

"Come on, tell me or I won't stop pestering you. I don't have to go back to Suna until tomorrow morning, if you don't tell me I'll just keep bothering you until you do."

"It's that stupid pervert sensei of mine!" Sasuke screamed, "he's got himself a submissive and I met him today!"

"Oh, so you're jealous?" Gaara concluded.

"No, I don't give a rats ass about who that perverted man marries!"

"Then why are you so mad?" Gaara asked, confusion written all over his face.

"That perverts wife was...he was so..he was SO DAMN SUBMISSIVE IT WAS DISGUSTING!" Sasuke raged. "He acted like that pervert was his whole damn world! Like he was made of gold or something!" Sasuke's anger turned his pale face red, he was boiling just thinking about the whole incident.

"Is that all?" Gaara asked in disbelief. He couldn't believe how childish his little cousin was. Gaara sighed, it seemed it was his duty to explain the ways of the world to sasuke. "Submissives only act submissive to please dominants, you don't understand or care because you're too young to be affected by it, once you turn ten you'll understand."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke inquired. Some of his anger reduced due to his curiosity.

"It's hard to explain. Think of it like this; once you become a dominant, that is if you become a dominant-"

"-I will." Sasuke growled.

"Whatever," Gaara rolled his eyes. "when you become a dominant a foreign ball of energy blooms inside you, the best way I can explain it is that it's like a beast that dictates your emotions. This beast drives you to act dominant, it rages inside you. To be honest with you, it sometimes feels like you'll go mad but something about being around submissives calms it down. It's like they lull it to sleep, not all submissives can do this, only those you love, the more you love that submissive and the more that submissive loves you, the calmer your beast becomes."

"I don't get it." Sasuke rolled his eyes, "if we have beasts inside us why has no one ever told me this then? This sounds like another one of your stupid lies!"

"I'm not lying, this is basic knowledge. And no, we don't have literal beasts inside of us, it just feels like it. How do you not get it? I've already explained it as simply as I could! think of it this way, you remember how Naruto never looked your brother in the eyes when he was here for the betrothal ceremony?"

Sasuke nodded his head. Of course he remembered, how could he forget when it had been a source of irritation for him.

"Well, Naruto only did that because he knew it'd please Itachi. Itachi is a dominant and if he sees his future bride submitting to him like that then it will make the dominant beast inside him happy. It's as simple as that."

"That's dumb." Sasuke pouted.

"No it's not, you're just too young to understand it." Gaara smiled wistfully at his little cousin. "Once you find a submissive that you love it'll all become clear."

 

Sasuke had been too young to understand it but now he fully grasped what Gaara had been trying to explain to him. Just being with Naruto sent a calming shiver throughout his body. He was in love with Naruto and his inner beast knew it. He wouldn't have been able to be this calm if Naruto wasn't also in love with him.

"You calm the beast inside me." Sasuke murmured, he twirled a piece of Naruto's blonde hair in his finger. Sasuke had a strange obsession with Naruto's long hair. It was so soft and it always looked so pretty with all the dangling ornaments and flowers and other shimmering things Naruto wore in it.

"I'm happy that I have that effect on you." Naruto smiled. He rolled his body on top of Sasuke's and laid his head on his chest. Naruto allowed Sasuke to play with his hair, he knew that submitting to anything Sasuke wanted would make him happy.

"I don't know how I'd deal with all of this if Sasuke wasn't here either." Naruto's eyes watered slightly, he closed his eyes so the tears wouldn't come out. He had cried more than enough over the last month. Itachi's defeat, the pressure of the wedding, the ever present threat of Karin...all it was too much. It would've broken him if Sasuke wasn't by his side to go through with it with him. "I'm happy that I can now be with you, it feels like a dream come true that I can be your mate but I'm still sad about Itachi-san."

"I am too," Sasuke confessed, "I've always loved my brother, I've idolized him my whole life," Sasuke grimaced. It was still hard to think about what had happened to Itachi. He was still in disbelief that his brother had lost the way he did. The more he thought about it the less sense it made. "I'm just happy he's still alive. Maybe Itachi's loss really was fated to happen because if it hadn't me and you being together would've never been a possibility."

"Yeah." Naruto hummed. His eyes closed as Sasuke continued to play with his hair. His breathing grew shallow. They were the words he needed to hear that finally calmed his guilty subconscious.

Sasuke smiled softly. Naruto had fallen asleep. It was really late and Naruto had been up all day doing last minute fittings and other small preparations for the wedding.

Sasuke carried Naruto inside and laid him under the soft satin sheets of his bed. He wanted to sleep right next to Naruto and hold him through the night but he refrained. Tomorrow was their wedding day. He could wait one more day. He already waited five years. One more day was nothing.

* * *

Kushina secured the golden clasp of the diamond necklace around her sons neck. It was the final touch in his elaborate wedding attire.

"There, you're all done, you can look at yourself now." Kushina turned her son around and faced him to the floor length vanity mirror.

"I look-" Naruto almost didn't recognize the person staring back at him. He didn't know what to look at first. His kimono was pure white, it was so bright that it was blinding. As naruto stood there the surrounding colors in the powder room reflected against the stark white kimono beautifully. It was like a pale rainbow that only shone when the light hit it just right. The skirt of the kimono trailed behind him endlessly as did the sleeves. They were so long that they practically trailed on the ground. The obi around his waist was white silk and the one underneath it was blood red, as was tradition, the under obi would always be the color of the dominants clan.

The obi was large and was tied into a bowed knot in the back. It was tied so tight that Naruto could barely breathe but it was so beautiful that it was worth it.

Naruto could now see why it had taken hours to get dressed. His hair alone looked like a carefully carved sculpture. It was tied up into a large bun. There was a large gold flower comb in the center of it, each of it's petals had a ruby and sapphire on it and in the center of the gold flower there was a single shining pearl. Strings of diamonds along with a cascade of white and red flowers hung from the comb. The combination of all of jewels and gold weighed down heavily on Naruto's small shoulders. But even if he winced he doubted anyone would notice the pain on his face. There was so much powder on it that his scars were barely visible. His blue eyes appeared brighter due to the red shadow applied around them It was like a beautiful mask staring back at him. He really did look like a began to slip from his eyes.

"Don't cry or Moegi's handiwork will be wasted." Kushina blotted at the tears running down Naruto's cheeks. Moegi, a famous make up artist who had come all the way from Whirlpool Country just to do Naruto's make up, handed Kushina a satin cloth so she could wipe Naruto's tears away.

Despite her words Kushina teared up as well. This would be the last time she'd see her baby with a white juban. After tonight her son would be forever changed, his childish innocence would be a thing of the past.

"I almost forgot! The uchikake!" Moegi announced. Her outburst ended the tender moment between mother and son. Moegi pulled on the ends of her frizzy orange hair as she tried to remember where she had put the uchikake. "Oh that's right I put it on the mannequin!" Moegi retrieved the heavily brocaded white uchikake that had the Uchiha clan symbol and two black dragons surrounding it on the back. She placed the formal overcoat on Naruto and then took a step back to admire her handiwork.

"Now you're truly ready!" Moegi declared proudly.

"We have to get going or else we'll be late." Kushina said bitterly. She wiped the tears under her eyes away. She wanted to take her son away from this place.

She dried her tears and snapped her fingers at the dozens of maids and stylists who had helped Naruto get ready all day long. "Carry his train and don't let it touch the floor until he's seated in his throne!" Kushina ordered.

The maids scurried to help Naruto. He looked so happy, the innocent excitement in his eyes was heartwarming. Kushina stood back and watched quietly. She imprinted Naruto's joyous expression into her memory. She'd save it for a day when she was back in Whirlpool Country and was missing her baby dearly.

* * *

Sasuke sat amongst a golden throne. He watched in fascination as Naruto was carried down the aisle in an identical gold throne. He looked like an angel dressed all in white. Every dominant in Fire Country was here and all of their eyes were glimmering with hidden desire. Naruto was the most stunning submissive they had ever seen. Sasuke smirked with pride, Naruto was all his.

Naruto was gracefully set down beside Sasuke. The audience clapped at the sight of Sasuke and Naruto now seated together. The future Uchiha king and his sovereign made a physically stunning pair. With his ash black hair, pale skin, and hooded black eyes Sasuke looked like a demon from a children's nursery rhyme while Naruto with his blond hair, sparkling blue eyes, and bright features looked like an angel.

"You're breathtaking." Sasuke stated proudly. "Wait," He wiped Naruto's overly powdered cheeks, revealing the beautiful scars underneath them. "Now you're truly breathtaking." Sasuke smiled.

"Sasuke looks beautiful too." Naruto blushed. His soon to be husband was wearing a black formal haori and hakama. His black eyes and pale skin looked extra beautiful contrasted against the pitch black fabric of his robes.

After the clapping ended the crowd of guests all sat down. The ceremony was ready to begin.

A royal uchiha wedding was different than any other Fire Country wedding. Uchiha weddings were steeped in old traditions. Naruto didn't know any of them. Mikoto had told him earlier that morning while he had been getting ready that his feet couldn't touch the ground until after the ceremony was over. She had also told him many more other traditions but at the moment Naruto was too nervous to remember any of them. There were so many people staring at him, picking apart his appearance, sizing him up to see if he worth becoming an Uchiha or not...it was making Naruto sick just thinking about it.

"Today is a momentous day." The priest declared. His black eyes were covered in a white film and his pale skin was as wrinkled as a prune but he was the highest holy man in the entire Uchiha clan. "Sasuke Uchiha, the new heir to our glorious clan has found himself a submissive who will carry within him the next heir for our clan."

The guests cheered. The Uchiha clan members who were present cheered a tad bid louder. Pride was evident in their faces. Kushina bit her lips to stop the nasty words she was thinking from coming out. Her baby was above all of them.

"Naruto Uzumaki, from the Uzumaki clan, from today onward you will no longer be called by that name. From today until the day you draw your last breath you will be Naruto Uchiha, sole sovereign of the Uchiha clan. Do you accept this?"

"Yes." Naruto stated clearly. His blue eyes shone with conviction.

The priest nodded then raised his hand and rubbed Naruto's forehead with his thumb. He was cleansing the spot for what would happen next.

Naruto braced himself. He knew exactly what was going to happen. Even through his nervous, fogged up mind he remembered the three red dots Mikoto had explained to him about in great detail.

Two men dressed in satin black robes carrying identical porcelain boxes suddenly came onto the altar. They bent at the knee and presented their boxes to the priest. The priest opened the first box, he pulled out a long thin needle and a jade stone. The priest then opened the next box and pulled out a clear crystal vial filled with blood red ink.

"The three red dots have graced the foreheads of every one of the Sovereigns of our glorious clan. Today, Naruto will be given the honor of bearing the three red dots on his own forehead. I will give the first dot to symbolically represent Kaguya's blessing, the second dot will be made by our previous queen, Mikoto to symbolize passing on her burden and duty to the next sovereign, and the last dot in the middle will be placed by the new king of our clan, Sasuke uchiha to symbolize his claim for his submissive."

The priest set the crystal vial down back in the box and dipped the needle in it. He then placed the thick needle on Naruto's forehead and banged the jade stone against it once.

Naruto whimpered. Mikoto had told him that it was of the highest importance to not show any pain when the dots were being tattoed. It showed weakness.

After the priest was done Mikoto came up and did the same thing. Finally after her it was Sasukes turn.

The guests were silent. For many it was the first time actually seeing this strange famous Uchiha tradition being performed, while for others it was a refreshing reminder of the last time they had seen it done, which had been when Mikoto was fifteen years old and married Fugaku.

Sasuke stood in front of Naruto, the stone and needle were in his hands.

Naruto's beautiful eyes were lowered submissively. Fear radiated from his very core. The pain was unbearable. Little pinpricks of blood had dropped down from the two dots, it was almost impossible to make out what was blood and what was ink though since the ink and blood were the same color.

"I love you." Sasuke said quietly. He leaned down and kissed Naruto's forehead and then stepped back. He took a deep breath and quickly banged the stone against the needle.

"It is complete!" The priest yelled, "may I present to you our new king and his sovereign! May they lead our clan graciously and strongly!" The priest bowed at his new king and queen. Everyone stood up to applaud and cheer and bow at the new rulers. The Uchiha clan was as powerful as the emperor. Almost everyone was cheering...except Kushina. She remained sitting. This barbaric clan had just defiled her sons once beautiful forehead. Fire Country was full of brutes. How could they clap for such a barbaric tradition! They'd pay for this.

"With this, the ceremony is over!"

It was now time for the after party.

"Congratulations Sasuke-kun." Ino bowed at the new king. Her icy blue eyes snapped at Naruto. "Your submissive is beautiful."

Sasuke smirked at the glaring princess. Jealousy was burning in her eyes. He had always known of her little crush on him, even before he became the king of the Uchiha clan he had known of it. She used to favor Itachi more than him but right after Itachi fell into a coma she had moved on and released all her affection on Sasuke. She was a poor excuse of a submissive.

"Thank you." Sasuke replied blandly. He waved at Ino to leave. There was still a line of people behind her whom Sasuke still had to greet.

"C-congratulations, S-Sasuke-kun! Your w-wedding was beautiful!" Hinata Hyūga bowed. Her pale lilac eyes averted Sasukes. Like she was too scared to look him in the eyes.

"I'm so very happy for you, your grace." Neji Hyūga bowed lowly. A teasing smile graced his lips. "Thank you for inviting my clan to your beautiful wedding ceremony. The day I laid my eyes on Naruto I always imagined what he'd look like in wedding attire, I must say it surpassed my wildest imagination. He looks more lovely than any bride I've ever seen in my life. "

Sasuke stiffened. The mere sight of Neji made him want to rip him to shreds. He hadn't seen him since that day at the arena. His fingers trembled, the urge to avenge Itachi was sending him into a silent rage. He didn't know how but he was now convinced that Neji had somehow cheated during the duel. Neji was weak compared to Itachi. Itachi was a genius, he shouldn't have lost to such a laughable opponent! Sasuke's entire hand was trembling now, he couldn't hold back any longer-

"Sasuke." Naruto's sweet worried voice broke through Sasuke's anger.

He felt Naruto's hand shyly grab his and hold it tightly. Naruto didn't have to say anything. That one little hold spoke volumes. calm down.

Sasuke smirked. Naruto's calming effect over his body soothed him back to rationality. "It was a pleasure to have your family here, I wanted your dear sister to see what could've been hers. If she had been good enough for my clan she would've been the one sitting next to me right now."

Neji's teasing smirk dropped. His pale eyes narrowed. He glared at Naruto and Sasuke's joined hands. Sasuke had gotten right to the root of Neji's anger. His embarrassment and anger over Hinata's marriage bid being denied was the core and main source of his anger towards the Uchiha clan.

"Now, if you'll please leave, I have more guests to greet. Many kings and queens have come to get a sight of my submissive. You're holding up the line."

Neji growled and stalked away, his little sister trailed behind him worriedly. Her little pigeon toed feet barely allowed her to keep up.

_Two hours later._

Sasuke had greeted almost all the guests now. The after party was more of a formal event, not really a party. The whole point of it was for the other clans and guests to get to greet and meet the new king and his submissive. It was like showing all of the country who had replaced the old rulers.

Sasuke knew this but he was still extremely bored of having to greet so many people. Many of them were just nosy nobodies from weak insignificant clans. This was technically his first act as the new king but he couldn't concentrate. Naruto was sitting beside him and his entire being was enchanting him. Every time they had a moment of silence together Sasuke used it to whisper to Naruto how beautiful he was. As the night wore on Sasuke's will wavered more and more.

"Congrats on becoming king, little cousin." Gaara smirked. His red hair was oiled back and his lips were stretched thin into a smile. Gold bangles encircled his thin arms and he had black kohl outlining his teal eyes. "I'm so proud of you."

"Gaara!" Sasuke exclaimed. He was excited to see a familiar face after meeting so many unfamiliar ones. "I didn't think you came,"

"Why wouldn't I come?" Gaara rolled his eyes, "I admit, I'm a little late but it was because of my 'siblings.' They don't know how to travel properly. It took me twice as long to get here." gaara's teal eyes looked over his shoulder where a boy and girl stood. The boy was clearly a dominant. His brown hair was cut extremely short and there was strange paint around his eyes and mouth. The girl was a submissive and her light brown hair was tied up into four ponytails. Her attire was formal but she carried herself like a commoner. Her posture was poor and her stance was sloppy. It was clear that the both of them were unaccustomed to being out in high society public functions. Sasuke had never met them before but he knew them from the many times Gaara had complained about them while growing up.

"Temari, Kankuro, thank you for attending my wedding." Sasuke thanked the sand siblings. They were technically his cousins too.

"Thank you, lord Uchiha" they replied in unison and then bowed.

"Ugh." Gaara groaned. His dislike for his siblings was obvious.

"Anyways, I'm going to go try and get drunk before my father arrives." Gaara bowed. "Oh yeah and before I go," Gaara glanced at Naruto. "You make a beautiful bride, Naruto. Itachi would've loved to have seen you like this."

Naruto smiled, his eyes softened. "Thank you, Gaara-san. I know he would've."

Gaara bowed again then left. His siblings didn't know whether to follow him or to go back to their seats at the elaborate set up tables where all the guests were seated, they ended up following behind their brother. Sasuke shook his head sadly. Those poor siblings, they were royal and yet had been cooped up hidden at home. If he had been them he would've just renounced his last name and lived a normal life in squalor.

"Sasuke-kun?" A familiar irritating voice brought Sasuke out of his reverie.

"What do you want Sakura?" Sasuke glared down at his 'wife.' After today he'd have to find something else to refer to her as, he didn't want Naruto to share a title with Sakura.

"I just wanted to congratulate you." Sakura murmured. She twiddled her fingers nervously.

Many guests were now looking their way. They were nosy and had been waiting to see how Sasukes old wife was going to congratulate him.

"Is that all?" Sasuke asked boredly.

"No." Sakura straightened up. Her hand was now cradling her round stomach. "I wanted to give my blessing to Naruto, I want him to know that I'm excited that he and I will be co-sovereigns of the Uchi-"

"Don't make me laugh, you're not a sovereign." Sasuke's glare hardened. His hatred for Sakura was bursting at the seams. "You're not even my wife, the only reason I married you and why you carry my child inside you is because your father threatened to go to war with my clan if i didn't. You're nothing but a bargaining chip in an alliance that probably won't last the entirety of our marriage. If your father hadn't threatened to go to war with us again I would've sent you back to your clan the second Naruto became my betrothed."

Sakura wanted to cry. Ever since Naruto arrived, her Sasuke-kun had started treating her meaner than usual. She hated Naruto. He was living the life that she was supposed to live!

"Come with me Sakura, we don't want to cause a scene." Mikoto had watched the tense scene unfold with everyone else and decided to intervene. "Come let's sit, it's best you steer clear of sasuke for tonight, his inner beast is on edge tonight because it knows that Naruto will be his very soon. He didn't mean any of those terrible things he said." Mikoto sat Sakura in a cushioned chair. She glared at a group of submissives who were watching them while whispering things to each other. They glared back then looked away. Mikoto no longer held the authority or power she once had, now that she wasn't the queen of the uchiha clan she was just another royal submissive. The red dots on her forehead were useless now, by tomorrow morning she'd be forced to tattoo them over in black ink and after they'd be powerless just like her.

"You shouldn't cry over anything my son says, that's just how he is."

"Then why haven't I heard him talk to Naruto the way he does to me!" Sakura cried, "for the past month he hasn't slept beside me once. Every time I go look for him he's with Naruto!"

"He's just distracted with other things, trust me my dear, soon things will go back to normal."

"You really think so?" Sakura asked hopefully.

"Yes," Mikoto smiled. "Here, have some water to calm down, you need to remember to act like a queen even if Sasuke doesn't recognize you as one, you still are. You can't act irrational at formal events like these. It makes our clan look bad."

Sakura nodded. "You're right, I'm sorry." She grabbed the offered glass of water and chugged it gratefully. She was so happy that at least Sasuke's mother appreciated her.

"Are you feeling better now?" Mikoto asked cheerfully.

"Yes~" Sakura smiled. She patted her stomach. "Even my baby has calmed down, it feels like nothing's there."

"Good." Mikoto grinned.

Her husband would be pleased to know that lord Uzumaki's wish had just been fulfilled. The flower was nipped before it could even grow. Mikoto had been a graceful queen. She really had-but queens couldn't remain graceful forever. She had to do the dirty work now. For the sake of her son and for the clan that she loved...She'd do anything.

* * *

"Thank you all for joining me on this joyous day." Sasuke announced to the guests. "I will be retiring with my submissive for the night. As tradition, you may all stay until the early hours of the morning if it pleases you and let the real party begin in our absence."

The guests cheered louder. Other clans would probably go home but as for the Uchiha clan, they'd be celebrating until the sun came up. The succession of a new king was something to be greatly celebrated.

Sasuke smirked. He turned to Naruto. "Come then, wife, let's go have a party of our own."

The ceremony was done and over with and now they were no longer under the publics scrutinizing gaze.

Naruto liked it, he had started feeling like a circus freak with the way everyone was gaping at him. One after the other, in a never ending line they all came up and stared at him while greeting him with empty words. Sasuke had said it was because people weren't used to his type of beauty-but still Naruto didn't like it.

Naruto was wobbly on his feet, he had drank some alcohol to calm his nerves just as his mother had urged him to do. He wasn't drunk but the alcohol had definitely made him feel less anxious. His body felt boneless but his heart was still racing. His geta clacked against the marbled stairs as Sasuke walked directly behind him. He could feel Sasuke carrying the long train of his kimono but Naruto said nothing. He knew there was only one thing on Sasuke's mind. As soon as they arrived at the top of the steps Sasuke encircled his arms around Naruto's bound waist. Naruto froze, he hadn't expected Sasuke to suddenly be so close.

"What is it?" Naruto questioned, curious as to why Sasuke had stopped and was now holding him.

"I'm just happy, it's official, you belong to me now."

Naruto blushed. Hadn't he always been Sasukes? He was Sasukes the day he fell in love with him. No other dominant had ever stood a chance at winning his heart, not even someone perfect like Itachi could claim him. "Of course I'm yours-wah! Sasuke what are you doing?" Naruto bellowed when Sasuke suddenly picked him up, princess style.

"I'm carrying you to my bedroom, I can't wait much longer." Sasuke growled.

Naruto's cheeks burned red, he said nothing and allowed Sasuke to carry him down the hall to his-no, to their bedroom. His parents place was now theirs. This palace could only be owned by the current Uchiha king. It was all theirs.

Naruto held his breath as sasuke carried him into the room and gently laid him on the bed. He looked around, he hadn't been inside Sasuke's bedroom before. They were usually outside in the clearing or inside Naruto's sleeping chamber. Now that Naruto was in Sasuke's room he looked around. It was spacious, it wasn't the size of a normal room, it was like a mini house. In the corner there was a dividing board that was painted with dragons and fire emblems, behind the folding board was a heated stone tub. In the other corner was a tea table that had a forgotten shoji game on it along with a tea cup and kettle. On the walls there were various paintings that caught Naruto's interest they were mostly of nature and the moon. There were multiple mirrors on the wall as well, the entire length of the back wall was one long mirror, Naruto could see himself sitting on the bed in it and could see Sasuke's back turned to him. He could also see the large curtained window behind him and the uchiha flag that hung next to it. Naruto gulped, even to his own eyes he looked extremely nervous.

"Relax," Sasuke cooed to his trembling submissive. "You look so tense," Sasuke kneeled down so that he was between Naruto's legs, he looked up and smiled at his beautiful bride, "I'll be gentle, you don't have to be nervous."

Naruto nodded numbly. Sasuke knew no matter how much he reassured Naruto, Naruto would never calm down. It was just in a submissives nature to fear things they didn't know. And this was the ultimate unknown. Naruto was strong when it came to power but in this situation he was just like any other submissive on their wedding night;nervous and scared beyond belief. The last time Naruto had offered himself to sasuke in the clearing he had been nervous too but it was subdued thanks to his excitement and arousal. Now he had nothing to cloud his mind other than the warm lull of alcohol sloshing around in his stomach.

Sasuke's sensei had once told him that submissives, no matter their personality or how much they loved the other person, were always intensely nervous during their first time. It was in their genetic make-up to be that way. The act of sex was the ultimate form of transformation, after it the submissive would mature to accommodate to their significant others desires. They became more sensitive and clingy because their newly developing bodies were transforming to crave sexual pleasure. That's why once a submissive was bedded they lost their innocence. That's what Ino had meant when she tried to psyche Naruto out by telling him he'd change after getting married. Right now Naruto was having an internal battle, his body was going to be completely different after tonight and sasuke could see it in his blue eyes. He wanted to wring Ino's neck for scaring Naruto with such a thought.

He could do that later, right now he needed to calm his submissive down. Sasuke leant forward and kissed Naruto's plump lips, they were delicate like petals and so sweet that sasuke wanted to bite Naruto's lips off but he withheld the urge and settled for running his tongue across Naruto's bottom lip.

Unlike submissives, dominants always have a healthy sexual desire. However, that desire intensifies whenever they are in the presence of a submissive who is able to completely calm the beast within them. Sasuke's inner beast was entirely subdued as he licked his way into Naruto's mouth. With each shy pass of Naruto's tongue against his, Sasuke's desire grew hotter. He had to calm down though, it wasn't unheard of for dominants to fall into a lust frenzy and completely demolish their submissives on their wedding night. Sasuke forced himself to pull away from Naruto's addicting lips.

"Lay down." Sasuke ordered. Naruto immediately obeyed.

Sasuke climbed onto the bed and sat next to Naruto's still form. Naruto looked beautiful just lying there amongst the satin white sheets. His pinned blonde hair and all of the ornaments in it were fascinating to sasuke. Naruto's white kimono and shimmering red eyelids made him look like the epitome of royal uchiha beauty. The newly brandished three red dots on his forehead stated loud and clear that that was exactly what Naruto was, a royal uchiha.

"Does it hurt?" Sasuke glanced at the newly brandished red dots on Naruto's forehead.

"No!" Naruto said quickly. It was too quick, Sasuke knew that the tattoo pained Naruto. The dots were red and a swollen, they had bled earlier as well too. Naruto was a submissve who was used to comfort, the tattoo definitely hurt him. Sasuke leaned down and kissed the tattoo.

"My little sovereign," Sasuke cooed. "I know it pains you but I'm happy you were so strong while receiving it." Sasuke kissed the tattoo once more then pulled away. "You're like a beautiful present, I want to unwrap you but I don't want to ruin the surprise inside."

"Sasuke's an idiot, just do it." Naruto murmured. He felt so hot underneath Sasuke's gaze. It was making him lightheaded.

"Hn, fine." Sasuke chuckled. He carefully pulled off Naruto's white uchikake. The black dragons on it stared back at him and a strange feeling to be careful came over him. He should be very careful in undressing Naruto, these robes cost a commoners fortune, and they were passed down from one uchiha bride to the next. No matter how much he wanted to rip Naruto's clothes off he couldn't. He gently placed the uchikake on a nearby chair and then undid the white obi around naruto's waist. Being this slow was killing Sasuke but he had to be patient, and besides, he didn't want to scare naruto by being too agressive-yet.

Naruto took a deep inhale of air when the obi was finally undone. It unceremoniously slid down to the floor. He languished in the freeing feeling of his chest being able to expand and contract normally.

"That probably feels much better on your ribs, huh?" Sasuke rubbed Naruto's waist, right over the spot where the constricting obi had just been. "I don't want you wearing these too tight anymore, understand? It might damage your womb."

Naruto blushed brightly and nodded shyly. He feathered his hand down to his lower stomach and rubbed it. He never wanted something like that to happen. He hadn't thought about the possible damage the obi could cause him. Ever since he could remember he could recall his mother wearing beautiful tight obis.

"I didn't know it could hurt me. It's Uzumaki tradition for royals to wear tight obis to show off our figure. I was never taught that in Whirlpool, I,m sorry." Naruto apologized. He felt like crying. He didn't know why, he was just so overwhelmed. He wanted to be the perfect omega for Sasuke but it felt like he was already failing. Maybe the cultural difference was far greater than he had thought. They came from two different worlds, they had different customs and traditions.

"Don't make such a sad face, I'm not mad." Sasuke cooed. "I was just concerned for you." Sasuke rubbed his hand along Naruto's stomach, "this is where my sons will be held so I want you to be careful, both for their and your sake. And besides you don't have to show off your figure, I'm the only one who gets to see it."

Naruto felt like his face was going to burn off, the way Sasuke was acting was so different. Sasuke was being so dominant, talking about their future children and telling him what to do, it was all so very pleasing to Naruto's submissive mind. It momentarily calmed all of Naruto's worries away. No matter the differences in their cultures Sasuke was still a strong and capable alpha.

"I'll do as told." Naruto murmured. His eyes were lowered in the ultimate sign of submissiveness. The sight instantly pleased sasuke. He slowly inched his fingers along the hem of Naruto's kimono, he gave the silk fabric a little tug and watched in delight as it billowed off of Naruto's shoulders, revealing the hiyoku underneath which was a gleaming red color. Sasuke did the same for the next four layers until finally he got to the last layer, which was a silk white juban.

"Remember when we were kids and you were in the pond with Karin that night long ago?" Sasuke asked as his fingers danced along the silky fabric gathered at Naruto's thigh. Naruto quickly nodded his head yes.

"Do you remember that all you were wearing was a single juban soaked wet and completely see through?"

Naruto's cheeks colored at this but he nodded his head yes again anyways.

"Back then, I was too scared to look at you since I had no right. You belonged to Itachi, but now," Sasuke undid the delicate datejime that held the juban closed together and watched as the silky fabric slid off Naruto's shoulders, revealing his naked body. "Now you're all mine and I can look as much as I want to." Sasuke ran his hands down Naruto's smooth chest, his pink nipples were so beautiful that Sasuke couldn't help but run his thumb against them. Naruto's breath hitched.

"You're sensitive here?" Sasuke asked playfully as he rubbed the pink nipple again which made Naruto moan. "Good, that means you haven't been touched like this before."

"Of course I haven't!" Naruto cried. "Why would you even think that. I didn't wear that white juban just for show!"

Sasuke laughed. "You know, I was never going to tell you this but after I went through puberty and my mark appeared I had numerous dreams about you. Some were innocent, I'd hold your hand and kiss it or I'd kiss your beautiful scarred cheeks underneath the setting sun... but many were sexual. When I was twelve I had a very vivid dream of me fucking you in that pond, as I pushed your juban up I fucked you as your sister watched helplessly, unable to do anything as I fucked her little brothers virginity away. I fantasized about you so much Naruto that I can barely contain my self right now." Sasuke hissed. The pent up sexual frustration that had accumulated over the past five years was driving him insane.

Sasuke took the rest of the juban off Naruto's body and halted when he saw the intricate tattoo on Naruto's stomach. The tattoo was a swirl that wound around Naruto's bellybutton, at the edges of the tattoo there were strange characters that sasuke recognized as words in Naruto's mother language. He stared at it in awe, so this was the mark naruto had been talking about. He ran his finger around the pattern as he tried to recall what naruto had said about it. Only royal omegas of the Uzumaki clan had this tattoo on their stomachs, they were born with it, those who were lucky enough to be born with it were considered pure blooded.

"It's beautiful." Sasuke said in amazement. He had always wondered what it looked like and now he knew. He leaned down and kissed it.

"Thank you, I'm glad it pleases you." Naruto said demurely.

"Everything about you pleases me," Sasuke admitted. He took Naruto's hand and kissed the sun mark on the inside of his palm. "You're so beautiful, so innocent, that I selfishly want to corrupt you."

"You say such embarrassing things, I never knew sasuke was this type of person." Naruto sighed as Sasuke's hands traveled down from his stomach and to the top of his thigh.

"I love these on you." Sasuke pulled at the hemline of the white lace underwear Naruto was wearing. "Do you always wear such provocative underwear underneath your kimonos?" Sasuke asked as his eyes misted over.

"N-no, I wore these today for you." Naruto answered honestly. "I thought you'd like them."

"You were right about that." Sasuke bent and buried his face in Naruto's lace covered crotch. The white lace was transparent and he could see the outline of Naruto's cock and the golden hairs above it through the thin fabric. Sasuke smiled gleefully, just as he had hoped Naruto's hairs were as gold as his hair. "You smell nice here, you're turned on aren't you?" Sasuke inhaled again and shuddered. He felt like a predator scoping out its prey. This was probably his inner beast at work. The sweet smell of Naruto's arousal was rapidly spurring the beast out.

"Y-yes, I am, you're saying all these perverted things, my body seems to like it." Naruto admitted weakly.

"Oh, so you like it when I talk dirty to you?" Sasuke chuckled, "then I'll tell you exactly what I want to do to you, I want to fuck you, violate you in every single way I can, I want you on all fours as you submit to the pleasure only I can give you, I want to taint your beautiful innocence."

Naruto whined. He was so turned on and Sasuke was only making him want him more. His body felt weird, like it was aching for something it had never had before.

Sasuke inhaled the intoxicating scent deeper, filling his lungs with it. Naruto smelled delicious. He wanted to eat him. He could still remember the first time he had smelled Naruto's arousal, it had been strong enough to pull him out of itachi's genjutsu. He had had to hold himself back the last time but not anymore.

"Open your legs." Sasuke commanded. Naruto immediately spread his legs open. Sasuke smirked, pleased at how obedient Naruto was being. With Naruto's legs now open, a new wave of Naruto's delicious scent assaulted Sasuke's nose, his mouth watered.

"You're so wet," sasuke observed as he poked at the wet spot on Naruto's lace panties. Sasuke's dick throbbed at the sight. He poked at the wet spot which was at the tip of Naruto's cute little cock through the panties again. He slid his finger down and poked at Naruto's hole, as he poked harder the fabric of the panties stayed between Naruto's ass cheeks. Sasuke pulled it back out and then back in. Naruto moaned, he didn't know what Sasuke was doing but it felt good.

"A-are you turned on too?" Naruto whimpered.

Sasuke stood up and placed himself between Naruto's spread open legs. He pulled his hakama down and pressed his throbbing erect dick against Naruto's entrance.

"What do you think?" Sasuke groaned, he pushed the tip of his dick deeper into Naruto's covered hole, he rubbed it in a circular motion, enjoying the friction of the soaked wet lace against his sensitive tip. "Does this feel aroused to you?"

"It's so hot," Naruto panted weakly.

"Yes it is, and it's all because of you," Sasuke grabbed a hold of his length and slid it down against Naruto's thigh, "Feel how hard it is, I want to put it inside you."

Naruto's eyes glassed over, The ache had gotten stronger and was now entirely focused in his stomach He wanted Sasuke bad.

"I want it." Naruto whimpered.

Sasuke started rubbing against the hole again, the barrier of the fabric hid Naruto's hole from him but the friction felt too amazing to stop. "You want all of this inside you?"

Naruto nodded quickly. He closed his eyes as Sasuke's thrusts became faster. Naruto suddenly clamped his legs closed, stopping Sasuke's movements.

"I want it inside me Sasuke, not like this! It hurts, my belly aches, I need it!" Naruto cried.

Sasuke was taken aback by Naruto's neediness but did as asked.

"Fine, open your legs," Naruto's legs tumbled open. Sasuke's mouth went dry as he took in the view of Naruto's ass. Naruto's ass had swallowed up the thin lace fabric of his panties due to the forcefulness of all the dry humping. Sasuke wanted to taste it, he wanted to pull the underwear out with his teeth and then taste Naruto's hole but he could'nt needed him inside. His submissive had begged for him and sasuke wanted to fulfill his needs.

Sasuke pulled off the lacy underwear and tossed them aside, he made a mental note to save them for later, he still wanted to use them.

Now that the underwear were gone Sasuke had a perfect view of Naruto's hole. It was so pink and tight and so innocent looking. No else would ever get to see it, it was all his now.

"This is going to hurt, uchiha custom dictates that for the brides first time I can't use any lube or prepare them beforehand. You will bleed so that you can stain the sheets and show my parents proof tomorrow that you were pure and that I was the one to deflower you, do you understand?"

Naruto nodded vigorously. His legs opened wider, telling sasuke to get on with it. The wet little hole practically called for Sasuke to enter it.

"Okay then, I'm going to put it in in one thrust, hold onto me if hurts, you can scream if you want to but I won't stop." Sasuke knew it was a harsh custom but it was tradition. If it weren't he would've prepared Naruto properly. "Are you ready?"

"Yes!" Naruto moaned.

Sasuke grabbed a hold of both of Naruto's thighs and hitched them up high and further apart. He grabbed his dick and in one swift movement he slid it up into the tight canals of Naruto's entrance. The feeling of being wrapped up in such intense warmness was euphoric, like Sasuke had come home. He fantasized about this for years and the fantasy paled to comparison of the real thing.

"Sasuke!" Naruto screamed in agony. The pain was worse than he thought it'd be. Sasuke glanced down and winced, there was blood pooling out of the sides of Naruto's entrance, he watched as it trickled down Naruto's thigh and then onto the white sheets.

"Sasuke, it hurts!" Naruto groaned. His eyes were watery and his legs were trying to close so the pain would go away but they couldn't due to Sasuke being in between them.

"I know, love, the pain will go away soon, just endure it a little bit longer." This was the true test of a submissive, if they couldn't deal with this pain then they wouldn't be strong enough to birth strong children in the future.

A few minutes later Naruto stopped crying.

"It's starting to feel good, Sasuke." Naruto murmured. He moved his hips up experimentally and immediately moaned in pleasure.

"Yeah?" Sasuke gave a shallow thrust into the tight heat. He gripped Naruto's thighs tighter and thrusted again. His dick felt like it was being suffocated, he had never felt such an intense pleasurable feeling like this before. He briefly wondered how he had ever come when he was with sakura because compared to Naruto she was as loose as an undid obi.

"I want it deeper, sasuke, please!" Naruto cried desperately. His legs spasmed as he tried to engulf Sasuke deeper into him. Sasuke didn't need to be told twice, he flipped Naruto over so that he was on all fours and thrusted back into him with renewed vigor.

Sasuke watched, mesmerized as Naruto's head bobbed up and down, with each thrust the hair ornaments in Naruto's hair jingled.

"So good, sasuke, I feel so good!" Naruto panted. The back of his neck was red and his hands were gripping onto the sheets for dear life. "I never want Sasuke to leave me, I want you inside of me forever!" Naruto moaned brokenly.

It was in that moment that Sasuke realized that he was literally fucking away Naruto's innocence. Naruto had barely gotten a taste of sex and already he was addicted to it. Sasuke hissed and pushed Naruto's head down so that his face was buried in the silk pillows, muffling his moans. With this new position sasuke had a perfect view of Naruto's ass jiggling as he thrusted into it, he was entranced by the way Naruto's body quivered each time he pulled his dick out and then slammed it back in. The little hole could fit so much inside of it.

"You want me inside forever, huh?" Sasuke groaned, he was close. Naruto's tightness was no joke. He had never come this fast before but with Naruto it seemed anything was possible. Sasuke picked up speed, his thrust were savagely quick. He could hear Naruto crying, the pleasure was too much for him. Sasuke knew he was being cruel but he couldn't stop, he still felt like a predator marking its prey as it's property.

Sasuke quickly turned Naruto around and plunged right back into him. With this new position he could see Naruto's face which was what he wanted, he wanted to see Naruto's face when he came.

Sasuke slowed his thrusts down to a tortuously slow pace then sped right back up. The whole time Naruto was crying while clinging onto him, telling Sasuke not to stop.

"Sasuke I feel weird I think I'm going to-I think I'm going to-" it was too late, Naruto came quickly. His whole body trembled as his orgasm wrecked through his body. Sasuke kept going until seconds later when he came as well, his dick still buried deep within Naruto's delicious heat. In the heat of the moment a strange urge to bite Naruto's neck overcame him, he bit down hard enough to draw blood. He didn't realize how deep he had bitten Naruto until he was done coming.

Sasuke didn't move for a few seconds. His post orgasm bliss was lulling him to sleep but then he remembered Naruto had bleed. He bolted up but calmed down when he saw that Naruto was sleeping. Naruto had come so hard he had actually passed out. Sasuke laughed, he was envious. He had never come that hard before. He carefully pulled his softening dick out of Naruto's abused entrance. He admired the hole, it was all his. He watched as his cum oozed out of Naruto, he wanted to lick it up but decided to wait. He didn't want to wake Naruto up. He looked at Naruto's stomach where Naruto's own cum had pooled together into a little puddle, he swiped his finger through it and brought it to his mouth so he could taste it, it tasted slightly of ginger. Unlike dominants, submissive males cum wasn't used to impregnate others, their come was purely superficial and often times tasted sweet. Sasuke was glad that Naruto's cum wasn't too overly sweet because he wasn't very fond of sugary things.

When the blood and cum finished coming out of Naruto, sasuke gathered him up into his arms and carried him over to the heated washtub in his room. He originally hadn't wanted to wake Naruto up but he also didn't want Naruto to go to sleep with dried cum and blood in between his thighs. Sasuke placed the sleeping blond into the heated tub and scrubbed him clean. He took the numerous ornaments out of Naruto's hair and then undid the extravagant hairstyle so he could wash Naruto's hair for him.

"Sasuke, what are you doing-why am I wet?" Naruto groaned. He cracked his blue eyes open and took in his surroundings. Naruto blushed as the memory of all that had happened came rushing back to him.

"You marked me?" Naruto smiled happily as he craned his neck back and lightly touched the swollen bite mark there.

"It kind of just happened." Sasuke admitted. "It felt right."

"It's okay, it means you've marked me as your mate, remember? It's part of Uzumaki culture. I'm now yours."

"You have alway been mine." Sasuke proudly proclaimed the words Naruto had said earlier.

"Come in with me?" Naruto asked quietly.

Sasuke smirked and did as told. After removing his clothes he stepped into the tub and sat close to Naruto.

Naruto's long hair flowed down his back and chest and fanned around him in the water. His blue eyes were half mast and he looked lost In thought. It was odd seeing Naruto's bare chest. For so long sasuke had only been allowed to see Naruto dressed in multiple layered kimonos. It was thrilling, it was a reminder that Naruto really was his.

Suddenly Naruto shuffled closer to him, he came closer and closer until he was seated squarely in Sasuke's lap.

"What's this all about?" Sasuke asked highly amused.

"I want sasuke." Naruto said simply while blushing furiously.

"What exactly is it that you want?" Sasuke played dumb. He wanted to hear Naruto say it.

"Inside," Naruto twisted around so that he was straddling Sasuke's lap, he wiggled down and shuddered when Sasuke's semi erect dick wedged between his ass cheeks. He could feel the hardness throb against his hole. Naruto moaned and thrusted his hips down so he could feel Sasuke closer. "I want it inside me, please." Naruto pleaded desperately.

Damn, Naruto really knew what to say to make Sasuke's dominant beast happy. Here Naruto was, begging to be fucked, when he had just given sasuke his virginity a little earlier that night. Sasuke now understood why so many dominant men went weak every time they were around their submissives, Sasuke felt like putty in Naruto's hands, he'd bend and stretch in any way just to make Naruto happy.

Sasuke forced Naruto up into a standing position.

"Hold onto the tub edge, I don't want you to fall if I get too rough." Sasuke instructed as he went behind Naruto. Naruto nodded eagerly and held on.

Sasuke lifted Naruto's leg up by his thigh and was about to thrust in but was mesmerized by Naruto's beautiful pink hole. He knelt down and spread Naruto's ass cheeks open and then ran a languid lick across the little rosebud.

"Ah! What was that?!" Naruto screeched. He attempted to turn around but Sasuke forced him to stay still.

"I just wanted a taste before I entered you, don't worry, I'll teach you all about rimming later," sasuke heaved his body back up and then positioned himself back behind Naruto. He hoisted Naruto's leg up again and without warning thrusted into him. Naruto crumpled to his knees.

"So good-" Naruto whimpered. "Deeper sasuke, please!"

Sasuke was slightly concerned at how needy Naruto was but he'd dwell on it later. He thrusted deeper and deeper until he was buried until the hilt. Naruto's legs were now trembling but he stood standing.

"Please, move!" Naruto urged in a crazed plea.

Sasuke snapped his hips back and began a ruthless rhythm of pulling out to the tip and then slamming back in. For awhile the only sounds in the spacious room were the sounds of the water sloshing back and forth, Naruto's panting, and the smacking sounds of Naruto's ass slapping against Sasuke's dick and balls.

Sasuke could tell Naruto was close, he was crying again. He wanted to give his submissive a memorable second time. Sasuke grabbed Naruto underneath both his thighs and hoisted him up into the air.

"Wah!" Naruto cried. He was a surprised by Sasuke's bold move.

Sasuke said nothing. He continued his sharp thrusts as he carried Naruto's body in the air. Naruto creaked a watery eye open and stared ahead. He felt like he was going crazy for real this time. His ass felt so good, every time sasuke thrusted into him he felt like he could see Kaguyas eyes smiling down at him. He was in heaven. He looked at his shameless face in the mirror in front of him, sasuke was carrying him, he could see sasuke's cock pistoning in and out of him. The more he stared the more wet he became. He couldn't take it anymore, Naruto had never known that sex was this amazing. He turned his head to the side and grabbed the back of Sasuke's head. He pulled his husband closer and kissed him sloppily. "I love you." Naruto whimpered then saw white as he came for the second time that night. Naruto managed to stay awake this time. Sasuke came inside him a few minutes later. The cum rushed out and filled naruto's insides.

Naruto clambered out of Sasuke's hold and went to sit on the bed. He laid his still wet body down and quickly shut his legs closed.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked confused by Naruto's odd behavior. He walked over and sat down on the bed next to him.

"I don't want a single drop to spill out, it feels so good inside. The ache is gone." Naruto blushed. He was embarrassed.

"There's no need for this Naruto," Sasuke chided he climbed on top of Naruto and pulled his legs apart. Naruto moaned when Sasuke stuck two fingers inside of him and pulled out a glob of cum. "If you like how it feels that much I'll just come inside you again and again and again-we have all night."

Naruto blushed, Sasuke was right. He shyly wrapped his legs around his mate and closed his eyes in ecstasy when Sasuke slid inside him for the third time that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omffgg I want to die. (-///-) This is the longest chapter I have ever written and it was super fun but also challenging to write ;-;
> 
> I NEVER thought I'd actually write and post smut but ...here I am. GOD. I'm just going to hide for awhile.
> 
> I hope that it wasn't to terrible! Also loool i'm sorry if you were team Itachi but this had to happen! don't worry I love Ita and I don't plan on leaving him bed bound for the rest of this fic! Rest assured he will be coming back ! I have so many ideas and things that I want to happen still so I'm really happy that so many of you seem to like this fic, thank you for your continued interest!


	6. The New Uchiha Bride

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: If you like Sakura you may not want to read this chapter.

"Good morning, love." Sasuke greeted the moment Naruto's eyes fluttered open. He bent down and kissed Naruto's swollen red lips. "You were tempting me as you slept so I put your juban back on you." Sasuke kissed along Naruto's neck, "I wanted to put it in you so bad I almost woke you up but I think I've exhausted you enough last night." Sasuke faint red lips tugged upwards into a splendid grin. He kissed Naruto's lips again. "I don't think the scratches on my back will ever heal, though I kind of like that they won't. They show how good I made you feel."

Naruto giggled with delight. Sasuke was such a flirt. The vibrations of Sasuke's deep voice on his lips were making him crazy.

"Last night," Naruto began. He lost his train of thought when Sasuke slowly licked his own bottom lip. It was tortuous, Naruto wanted to kiss that tempting mouth.

"What about last night, love?" Sasuke purred.

"It was the best experience of my entire my life!" Naruto proclaimed bashfully. "I like everything you did to me, especially towards the end where everything gets painfully good. I love that feeling." Naruto hid his face behind his hands, he felt embarrassed confessing this to Sasuke. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of Sasuke being inside me."

"Me either." Sasuke was no angel. He had fucked many submissives in his short lifetime. It was the luxury of being a royal dominant; everyone wanted a piece of him. It wasn't against clan laws to fool around with other submissives so long as nothing came out it-meaning no pregnancy and no fucking high ranking submissives who's fathers could potentially send an army fleet to destroy the clan. Sasuke had had his fair share of submissives but Naruto by far was the best he had ever had. It was probably because unlike all those other submissives, Sasuke actually loved Naruto. The love he had for Naruto heightened everything. Even just kissing Naruto felt orgasmic. No one else would ever compare. Sasuke was losing it just thinking about it. He slid his hand down to Naruto's thigh and slipped it underneath his juban. He hitched his palm up. The fabric came up as well as he moved it higher and higher. He moved past Naruto's thighs, hips, and stomach. Naruto was already panting. He had goose bumps just from Sasuke's hand trailing up his body.

"Can I kiss you?" Sasuke didn't have to ask. Naruto was all his and he could do as he wanted with him but there was something thrilling about Naruto allowing him to do things to him that excited Sasuke. He was so used to dominating and getting whatever he wanted but Naruto was special, he wanted this submissives permission.

"Yes, you can do whatever you want to me." Naruto vowed quietly.

Sasuke's black eyes widened in surprise, he knew Naruto truly meant what he said. Sasuke grabbed Naruto's chin and lifted him until their lips met. He kissed the bruised red lips softly. Licking at them slowly to ease the pain. He had bitten Naruto's lips so many times last night that they now were swollen. Naruto tilted his head higher and opened his mouth slightly; he wanted this just as much as Sasuke did. Sasuke eased his tongue into Naruto's mouth.

The kiss was anything but rushed. They both took their time. It was nothing like the wild and rough kisses of the previous night. Naruto wounded his arms around Sasuke's neck, pulling him down and deepening the kiss. Sasuke circled his tongue around Naruto's, loving how Naruto's body felt underneath his.

Sasuke ended the kissed and then trailed open mouth kisses down Naruto's neck. He stopped when he got to the mating mark on Naruto's neck. Last night it had bled profusely. He could remember the coppery metallic taste of it; he could remember how he had been driven to the point of lust frenzy and then biting down on Naruto's neck with all of his might. The mark was now blood free and heavily bruised purple but just by licking it Sasuke could taste Naruto's blood, he could feel Naruto's erratic beating pulse. It was like the flapping of a humming bird's wings, delicate and rhythmic. He kissed the mark again, enjoying what the mark signified.

Naruto was marked, claimed, his and only his.

Sasuke sucked the sensitive mark, making the purple bruise even darker. He enjoyed the little whimper Naruto produced every time he sucked down. "I love that you're marked, you're mine." Sasuke growled,

Naruto moaned as Sasuke's dark eyes gazed into his. He could see that his alpha wanted him. Being desired by his alpha sent a jolt of sexual desire through Naruto's body. He also wanted Sasuke.

Sasuke stopped, Naruto's intoxicating scent was back and it smelled even sweeter than last night. He sniffed the delicious smelling air, basking in its smell.

Once a dominant took a submissives virginity the submissive would gain a new unique smell that would smell faintly of their dominant to show others who the submissve belonged to. Naruto's sweet alluring scent was still there but now it was mixed with his scent and it made Sasuke happy. Now everyone would know whom Naruto belonged to. It made him want to dominate Naruto even more.

"I know you're craving me, love, but I need to close the drapes, I don't want anyone to accidentally see you." Sasuke knew he was being paranoid. His room was on the second floor and even then no one would ever dare to try and snoop-but his inner beast was being extra possessive today. He couldn't even chance letting someone else see Naruto the way he was now. He got up and closed the curtains, when he returned he was surprised by Naruto's state. Naruto's chest was rising and falling quickly. His eyes were half-mast and his legs were raised and he was holding them open. The soft silk material of his juban was gathered around his waist, giving Sasuke a clear view of Naruto's throbbing hole.

Sasuke took in the beautiful, pitiful sight. He really had created a monster. His poor little love now couldn't stand not being filled. Naruto had even made Sasuke keep his dick inside him last night while they rested. Sasuke was proud that his submissive craved him so strongly but then again Naruto's intense need to be filled was abnormal.

Sasuke climbed onto the bed and settled himself between Naruto's parted thighs. He spit on his hand and rubbed it over his dick. He was already hard, just seeing Naruto waiting like that for him was enough to arouse him. He bent Naruto's legs further back and parted his ass cheeks so that his hole was exposed more. Sasuke leaned down and spat into the hole. For a moment he watched as his spit dribbled down the puckered hole, the way it trickled down the line of Naruto's ass reminded Sasuke of last night and the multiple times he watched his own cum come out of Naruto. He wanted to see that again. He rubbed the spit in with the tip of his dick, getting Naruto nice and wet.

"Are you ready?"

Naruto's legs were already trembling. He nodded his head rapidly.

Sasuke smirked. He really had created a monster and he'd take full responsibility by indulging its every littlest desire. He lined his dick up against Naruto's hole and plunged in deep.

For the rest of the morning Sasuke fucked Naruto's desires away.

* * *

Sakura hummed loudly to her self as she lay in bed. The satin sheets beside her were terribly empty. The other side of the bed was always cold now. Her Sasuke-kun never slept with her anymore and the reason for that was currently down the hall getting fucked by her husband! Sakura hummed louder, she could hear the horrible sounds of Sasuke and Naruto's coupling. The sun was already out but she refused to get up. She was so angry that today she decided she'd just lay in bed, if she saw that blond husband snatcher she'd claw his stupid blue eyes out. She was also feeling slightly ill, her stomach ached and her head hurt. There was no reason for her to get up.

_Ahhh, Sasuke! Yes, harder!_

Sakura shuddered, that was the first actual coherent sentence that Naruto had screamed out that she was able to actually make out. Her fingers twitched, the silver knife that her handmaiden had delivered with her breakfast earlier was still on the silver tray. She could grab it, run down the hall, and before Sasuke knew what was happening she could stab the dumb blond to death. She would've done it but she knew Sasuke would kill her the second she pulled the knife out of Naruto's chest. She couldn't have Sasuke-kun's love if she was dead so that plan wasn't an option.

_Ah, Sasuke, Yesss! Yesss~_

Sakura grabbed the pillow on the cold side of the bed and put it over her stomach.

"You shouldn't have to hear one of your daddy's sluts getting fucked." Sakura cooed morbidly to her unborn child. She wrapped her hands around the pillow as an extra barrier.

There was a soft knock at the door.

"Who is it!" Sakura snapped. If it wasn't Sasuke she didn't want to see anyone.

"Lady Haruno, its me." Amaru, Sakura's handmaiden, nervously entered the room. The female servants brownish-pink hair was tied up into a tight bun and she was wearing a completely unflattering black yukata. Sakura didn't allow her to wear flattering clothes, she wouldn't allow another submissive to look pretty especially if that submissive was always around her. It could possibly detract Sasuke-kun's eyes away from her.

"What do you want Amaru?" Sakura barked. "I thought I told you I didn't want to be bothered!"

"I-I know lady Haruno b-but I was walking down the hall and couldn't help but to hear…"Amaru didn't dare name what they both knew what she was referring to, she feared her master would go into a rage if she did, "would you like me to have someone sent up to play you some music so you wont have to hear it?"

"No."

Amaru sighed in relief. She had thought Sakura would get angry at her suggestion, "Very well then, I'll just collect your breakfast tray and go."

"Before you take it bring it here." Sakura ordered.

Amaru obediently brought her master the silver tray. She lowered herself to her knees so that Sakura could have easier access to the plates on the tray.

"If none of the food here pleases you I can take this tray back and bring you back another with completely different food."

"Shut up, I didn't ask you to speak." Sakura muttered.

Amaru bowed and sealed her lips.

Sakura dragged her hand against the shining silverware. The spoon, the chopstick, the shiny knife that she had envisioned in her fantasy where she stabbed Naruto to death… "You know Amaru," Sakura fingered the pointy end of the knife, a little droplet of blood appeared at the end of her fingertip, "I've never liked you. I don't like that my parents chose someone like you as my handmaiden, I don't like how you're always tailing behind me, and I also don't like how you don't understand simple orders."

"I'm sorry, lady Haruno. I will try to better myself for you. Please don't be angry." Amaru lowered her head.

"I told you not to speak!" Sakura bellowed. She snatched the silver knife off the tray and slashed it across Amaru's face. It was quick, so quick that Amaru didn't realize what had happened until the pain seared across her face.

Amaru screamed, she clutched her bleeding face in shock. "W-why did you do that?!"

"I told you I didn't want to be bothered now get out of my sight."

Amaru wailed in agony as the blood began to drip down into her mouth. She bolted out of the room as fast as she could. A trail of blood dripped behind her as she ran.

Sakura threw the knife onto the floor. She'd have Amaru pick it up later and also scrub the bloodstains she left on the floor. Sakura sighed, she felt a little better now. She could still hear Sasuke and Naruto but at least now she had gotten out some of her pent up anger. She laid back down and pulled the pillow back over stomach and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"There's so much inside me." Naruto moaned as Sasuke emptied another load of his seed inside him. "It keeps coming."

"That's because you keep tempting me." Sasuke groaned. He had just came for the sixth time that morning.

This was what it felt like to lose his mind, Naruto thought blearily as he felt Sasuke pull out.

"Put it back in." Naruto whined. He felt terribly empty. "It aches when Sasuke's not inside me."

"I know." Sasuke laughed. Naruto had been saying that ever since last night. He rubbed his length against Naruto's stretched hole. It slid in easily then slipped back out due to all the cum that was still gushing out of it. Sasuke reached between Naruto's legs and plunged his fingers into Naruto's hole so he could scoop out all of the cum. He scissored his fingers back and forth, reaching further and further in until he rubbed against Naruto's prostate. The action elicited a glorious sound from the blond. Sasuke savored the feeling of Naruto's ass clenching around his fingers. He wedged his knee between the blonds' legs, forcing them further apart.

"Sasuke!" Naruto gasped as he felt rough fingers prod at that special spot deep inside of him. Even though it was bitterly cold outside Naruto felt hot. His face was red and his bangs were drenched in sweat. He bit his lip as Sasuke's fingers started to move faster.

"I want Sasuke inside." Naruto cried, his beautiful blue eyes fell shut as he tensed. He was going to cum.

Sasuke trailed kisses down Naruto's neck as an apology. "I know, love but I can't. There's too much cum inside you I have to take it out."

"Not fast enough!" Naruto cried out. "I want you now! Before I-ah," Naruto screamed as he came all over himself.

Sasuke winced. Naruto's hole was clenching painfully around his fingers. It sucked him in, trying in vain to milk his fingers.

"Again." Naruto panted as he came down from his orgasm. He looked up pleadingly at Sasuke. "Please, let's do it again."

Sasuke sighed. He couldn't believe he was going to say this but-"I think we should take a break. I'm starting to get worried, usually it's the submissive that wants to take a break but not you. You want me inside you at all times. You're much needier than what's considered normal."

Naruto's face turned bright red.

"I'm not complaining, or trying to embarrass you." Sasuke dragged Naruto closer, "in fact I love it that you want me so strongly but I think we should rest for a little. Lets at least get some food inside you and bathe you."

"I don't want to bathe." Naruto murmured. He looked shyly away from Sasuke's face.

"Why?"

"Because if I bathe Sasuke's scent will be washed away. I don't want that."

"You say the cutest things." Sasuke laughed, delighted by Naruto's reason. "But I can't have you walking around with dried cum between your legs all day. How about I wipe you down, we eat breakfast, and then after that you have a proper bath?"

Naruto pouted. His dislike for Sasuke's plan was evident by the face he was making.

Sasuke chuckled. "Fine, no bath, but I have to wipe you down."

Naruto's lips tugged into a brilliant smile. "Okay!"

Sasuke grabbed a cloth and cleaned Naruto up. After all the cum was wiped away Sasuke found Naruto's juban and helped him dress into it.

"Okay now let's go eat some breakfast." Sasuke stood up and quickly put on some pants and a robe.

Naruto nodded enthusiastically. He attempted to get up but as soon as he tried to stand his legs wobbled and he fell back onto the bed.

"What are you doing?" Naruto exclaimed when Sasuke picked him up.

"You obviously can't walk."

"B-but why? What's wrong with me?!" Naruto began to panic.

"I've been fucking you all morning and all of last night, it's only natural that you can't feel your legs right now." Sasuke explained. "Since you were a virgin your body isn't used to being stimulated sexually so it's still trying to get used to it. Maybe I shouldn't have been so rough."

"Oh," Naruto finally understood.

"Since you can't walk maybe we shouldn't do it anymore today."

"No!" Naruto screamed. He scrambled out of Sasuke's arms. "I can walk!" Naruto took one step but as soon as he did he fell to the ground. Sasuke caught him before Naruto could completely fall.

"You were saying?"

"I can walk" Naruto replied stubbornly.

"You can't even stand."

"Yes I can!" Naruto brought his hands together and closed his eyes. His body began to emit a bubbly red chakra. Sasuke had never seen anything like it. As the chakra receded Naruto wriggled out of Sasuke's hold until he was standing on his own two feet.

"See, I told you I can stand."

"What was that?"

"Huh? Oh that chakra?" Naruto touched his belly where his tattoo was at. "It's the power of being a royal omega. This tattoo is infused with chakra. It's supposed to only be used during pregnancy but It seemed now was the perfect chance to test it out."

"So it's a healing chakra?" Sasuke questioned as he eyed the mating mark on Naruto's neck.

"Yeah, it is. The chakra it contains is limited so I'm not really supposed to use it." Naruto said sheepishly.

"If it's a healing chakra then why didn't it heal your mating mark or any of the bite marks and hickies I gave you?"

"Oh, that's because I purposefully didn't allow the chakra to heal them." Naruto blushed, "I like having Sasuke's marks all over me."

"You're adorable." Sasuke picked Naruto up and kissed him. "You amaze me everyday with the things you can do. But I don't care what that chakra did I'm still carrying you. You could barely stand a second ago, you don't even know how long that chakras healing effects last. What if you're walking down the stairs and it stops working, you could fall."

Naruto wanted to refute Sasuke but he had a point. "Fine, you can carry me but if you do you have to promise me we'll still do it tonight."

Sasuke shook his head in disbelief. "You really are my little monster aren't you?"

"Huh? What does that mean?" Naruto asked innocently.

"Nothing." Sasuke smiled. "I created you so I'll just have to indulge you." He picked Naruto up and carried him out the door.

* * *

Even though the Uchiha palace now belonged to Sasuke and Naruto, Fugaku and Mikoto wouldn't move out until Naruto gave birth to Sasuke's first child. It was customary for the old king to stay behind until then so that they could supervise the new king until he got the hang of things.

Because of this Sasuke wasn't surprised to see his parents when he carried Naruto downstairs. However, he was surprised to see Naruto's parents and his sister sitting with his own parents at the breakfast table.

Sasuke set Naruto down on his feet and shielded him with his body. Naruto was still only dressed in his juban. His long hair was undone and hung loose down his back and his legs and thighs were bare for everyone to see. Even though his father and Minato posed no threat they were still dominants and that made Sasuke's inner beast go on high alert. Even Karin's presence bothered him.

"Good morning, sweetie." Mikoto greeted brightly. She pointed at two seats across from her, "come sit, have breakfast with us, we've been waiting for the both of you."

"Good morning, mother." Sasuke replied tensely. He took off his own silk over robe and draped it over Naruto's shoulders so that his body was hidden underneath it. He was now shirtless but all that mattered was that Naruto's body was covered.

"It's hardly morning. At this point it's nearly afternoon." Fugaku growled.

"Oh, hush, come sit, the both of you!"

Kushina's eyes followed her son like a hawk as he went to go sit. She wanted to go up and check him over to make sure he was all in one piece. She knew how violent dominants could get and she wouldn't put it past a barbaric Uchiha to harm her baby. Her heart broke when she spotted the mating mark on her son's neck. It was deep, she was sure it had bled all night. It angered her. The more she looked at her baby the more bruises she saw. His lips were swollen and bruised and his neck was full of red hickies. That damn Uchiha had been rough with her baby! She glared at Sasuke. Her eyes widened when she saw the Uchiha's back. It was covered in deep, painful looking scratches. There were several of them going in random vertical directions. Had her innocent little baby really done all that? She observed her son. Naruto did look a little different. His innocence was still there but the way he carried himself now was of someone who had been touched. Yes, Kushina concluded sadly, her baby probably had done it.

"No, Naruto. Sit on the chair on the right. I've put an extra cushion on it for you." Mikoto winked. "I know how hard it can be the day after, don't worry, there's nothing to be embarrassed about."

Minato choked on his coffee. He had been trying very hard to ignore what was painfully obvious. His little princess was no longer his little princess anymore. It almost made him want to cry. Naruto had been a daddy's boy all of his life and now he had a new alpha to take care of all of his needs. He knew this day would come but it didn't make it any easier. He glared daggers at the old Uchiha queen.

"O-oh, okay. "Naruto blushed and sat in the chair Mikoto had specially prepared for him. "Thank you, mother."

Kushina's heart broke. Once she left to Whirlpool Country later on that day Mikoto would become her baby's mother in law. Mikoto would replace her in every single way. That alone was almost enough for Kushina to want to stay but she was a queen of her own clan and couldn't stay here just because of jealousy.

"So, today is Naruto-chan's family's last day here, Now that our clans are united I thought it'd be a lovely idea to have breakfast as a family before they leave." Mikoto explained cheerfully.

"Thank you mother, that's a great idea." Sasuke appreciated his mother's effort. Even if it did feel forced.

Mikoto rang a silver bell and banquets of various foods were brought out. Tray after tray of top quality cuisine came out and the newly joined family ate in silence.

They were now the strongest family in the world and yet, not a single word was spoken.

* * *

Saying goodbye was hard for Naruto. He loved his parents more than anything else in the world. Well-maybe not more than Sasuke, they were about almost equal. But still, Naruto had his parents at his side his entire life they were all he knew.

The one good thing about his parents leaving was that they had been nice enough to let Konan stay with him. His handmaiden slash bodyguard would be able to start a new life with him here. She had been happy about the news, she loved Naruto and couldn't live peacefully with out knowing whether her master was safe or not.

"I guess this is goodbye." Kushina sniffled. She didn't like crying but she couldn't stop the steady stream of tears flowing out of her eyes. She hugged her son again, "please take care of yourself. If you ever feel that you're in danger or if someone is threatening you don't be scared to let your father and I know. You also have Konan here so make sure she's always by your side. If anything should happen to you I would die."

"I know mom, I'll let you both know immediately but I doubt that'll ever happen because if I ever feel in danger or if someone threatens me Sasuke will protect me."

Kushina wanted to tell her baby that Sasuke was the person she was referring to but her son was blinded by lust. He'd never see Sasuke as someone who could potentially hurt him.

"My poor baby, I wish we went about all of this differently but it's to late for that now." Kushina rubbed the three dots on her son's forehead, just touching them filled her with rage, "I wish we could go back and choose a better alpha for you. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm happy. I love Sasuke more than anything. There isn't anyone else for me."

Kushina was shocked by the words. She briefly wondered what would've happened if Naruto had ended up marrying Itachi like he was supposed to. She was about to ask her son if he had always harbored such intense feelings for the younger Uchiha brother when the carriage pulled up behind her. Karin didn't even spare Naruto a final goodbye; she got into the carriage and waited for her parents to do the same. Her patience was running thin. When she returned to Whirlpool she'd begin the long process of becoming the next ruler of the Uzumaki clan. It took years, unlike the Uchiha clan where the throne was handed over after the heir got married, the Uzumaki throne was something that was only handed over to the heir after vigorous training and tests were completed and passed. Only then could the heir claim their crown. Karin was supposed to start her training last month but since the wedding had been postponed she had been unable to begin it.

"It's time." Minato announced sadly. "Take care of my son, Uchiha." Minato glared at Sasuke who was standing off a short distance away so that Naruto could have some semblance of privacy to say goodbye to his family. Mikoto and Fugaku were standing beside him.

"I plan to." Sasuke replied nonchalantly.

"If you dare treat him like you do your other pink haired omega I'll personally come back and take Naruto back to whirlpool."

"That's an empty threat seeing as how Naruto now belongs to me and if you were to steal him away we both know that it'd mean war but yes, you have no need to worry. I'd never treat Naruto the way I treat Sakura."

"God, all you Uchiha's are the same." Minato grumbled. "Let's go Kushina. I can't stand to be here another minute."

Kushina gave one last kiss to her baby's face and then boarded the carriage.

As Naruto watched the carriage roll away down the dirt road he refused to cry. His parent's departure was sad but it was also symbolic, with them gone his childhood days were officially over and he'd now become a real adult. His new life as a sovereign was now beginning.

* * *

Over the next few days Naruto slowly eased into his new life with the Uchiha's. It was easier living with them now since he was now allowed to be with Sasuke whenever he pleased. There were some things he didn't like about living here, like all of the traditions, and the rules, or how Sasuke's father would drag Sasuke away from him by giving Sasuke loads of work to do. But there were also lots of things Naruto did like. He liked how open the Uchiha people were to him even though he wasn't a native to their clan, he liked how well he and Mikoto got along, he liked visiting Itachi whenever he wasn't with Sasuke or he wasn't busy, and he especially liked all of the time he got to spend with Sasuke. Everyday that passed his love for Sasuke grew more and more. He had never loved anyone the way he loved Sasuke, sometimes he felt crazy in love. Like he couldn't properly function or go on if Sasuke wasn't there.

* * *

"Do you really have to go?"

"Yes, love, I already told you my father wants to meet with me an hour earlier today."

"But that's not fair. We never get to have breakfast together like this." Naruto frowned. He prodded at the sliced ham on his plate. He had no interest in eating if Sasuke was going to leave.

Sasuke smiled. Sometimes Naruto looked just like a child. It reminded him of the past when he had first seen Naruto, with his chubby cheeks and adorable accent.

"Don't pout, come here." Sasuke patted his lap. He didn't wait for Naruto to get up; he carried Naruto much like a parent would to a child. He set Naruto down on his lap.

Naruto's pout broke momentarily as he smiled at their new position.

"I know that our time together lately has been short but know that it's not intentional. As the new king I've inherited everything Itachi would've had to do. It requires a lot of time to learn how to do what my brother has been trained to do his entire life."

Naruto's pout deepened. He truly looked like a sulking child. Sasuke found it oddly arousing how Naruto could still give off such an innocent aura despite how many times he had defiled him.

"I know but I miss you when you're gone. It's no fun being with Konan all day. And I get lonely too, I miss Sasuke being inside me."

Sasuke laughed. Naruto's strange need to be filled was still as strong as ever. They had only been married less than a week but Naruto's sexual appetite had shown no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Sasuke was concerned about it, he had contemplated sending a letter to Naruto's parents to ask if a strong sexual libido was common for whirlpool omegas but he had thought well against it. He couldn't imagine Naruto's parents would be too thrilled to receive a letter about their sons abnormal sexual need to be constantly filled.

Sasuke peered at Naruto, his raven bangs hung down into his eyes as he gazed down at his submissive. Naruto smelled so tempting, so good that Sasuke couldn't do anything but be sucked in by it. He always gave into Naruto's cravings.

"Sasuke, can we..." Naruto timidly touched Sasuke's dick through his hakama. "I need it now before you go, I won't be able to get through the day if we don't."

"Here? But we're not in my sleeping chambers. What if a maid walks in?" Sasuke sniffed along Naruto's neck as he spoke. He trailed soft little kisses on Naruto's soft skin, loving how sensitive Naruto was.

"It's too early, none of the maids will come yet." Naruto moaned. Sasuke was hard underneath his hands. "Can we please?"

"You make it hard to say no when you smell so good." Sasuke pulled down his hakama and freed his dick out of its constraints.

Naruto groaned at the sight of Sasuke's engorged cock. He wanted it inside him.

Sasuke slithered his hand underneath the long fabric of Naruto's kimono and pulled Naruto's silk underwear down. Naruto lifted his ass up; he already knew what was coming.

Naruto let out a small cry when Sasuke's fingers entered him. "Deeper, Sasuke," Naruto arched his back and widened his legs, giving Sasuke more room to move. "Please go deeper!" Naruto moaned brokenly. He slowly began to move against the thick fingers inside of him. He was desperate, once he was stretched Sasuke would finally give him what he really wanted-his dick inside of him.

"It feels amazing inside you, so warm and soft, clamping on tight to my fingers. You want me inside you?"

"Mmm!" Naruto hummed as Sasuke fingered deep inside him. His entire body shivered when Sasuke prodded his finger roughly against that spot that always made everything more intense.

They were so caught up in each other that neither of them realized when the door slid open.

"Oh," Mikoto blinked rapidly, trying to take in what was happening before her eyes. "Even in the tea room? But I suppose that's fine, at this rate we can expect to hear the little pitter patter of feet echoing through the palace very soon." Mikoto smiled, her eyes turned up into little moons. "Carry on, pretend I was never here." She turned around, "but hurry, your fathers already waiting for you, Sasuke." she smiled again and then slid the door closed.

Naruto's cheeks burned red. He hid his face in Sasuke's chest. "I can't believe that happened, I'm so embarrassed." Naruto groaned.

Sasuke was weirdly unaffected by being caught. So what if his mother saw him pleasuring Naruto? She was right; at this rate Naruto would fall pregnant soon. If anything his mother only fueled his lust, he wanted Naruto pregnant. But he couldn't fulfill his desires right now on the account that his father was waiting.

"Don't be embarrassed, love." Sasuke pulled Naruto's face up and kissed his burning red cheek. "We'll have to continue this later since my father is waiting. When I take my bath later after I train you can join me and I'll help you fill that hole of yours, how does that sound?"

Naruto nodded. He had no idea how he'd make it that long. It was definitely going to be a long morning.

* * *

Surprisingly Naruto didn't have to focus on the empty ache in his stomach as long as he thought he would have to. Two hours after Sasuke left a familiar red headed prince arrived at the palace.

"Gaara-san! What are you doing here?" Naruto exclaimed in disbelief. "I didn't believe it when the maids told me you were here!"

Gaara was as beautiful as always. His jade eyes were outlined with dark kohl and his fiery red hair fell into his eyes in an attractive manner. The gold bangles he always wore fascinated Naruto. As always he found himself in awe that Gaara wasn't an omega but an alpha, or a dominant as Sasuke would say.

"I was curious about how things were so I decided to drop by, I also brought along a few... acquaintances."

Naruto cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"Come have lunch with us, they're waiting for you."

Naruto glanced outside; the sun was already high in the sky, which meant Sasuke was going to be back soon. He didn't want to miss their scheduled appointment in the tub but it'd be rude to turn Gaara and his mysterious "acquaintances" down.

"Don't worry about whatever it is you're worrying about. I'm sure my cousin won't mind if I simply entertain you."

"Alright, I'll go." Naruto nodded and allowed Gaara to lead the way.

They arrived at a gold tearoom on the second floor. When Gaara slid the door open Naruto finally got to see whom the mysterious acquaintances were.

"Hi, Naruto-kun~!" Ten-ten chirped.

Naruto waved cheerfully at ten-ten. He looked around the room and saw Ino, Kiba, Ten-ten, and Sakura. He hadn't seen Sakura since the wedding. It was awkward to see her now. Naruto didn't want to see her or her pregnant belly. He wanted to pretend that she didn't exist.

"Come, let's sit." Gaara guided Naruto to an empty cushion which so happened to be right next to Sakura. Naruto stiffened, he really didn't want to look at her but he couldn't help it. She was beautiful. Her long pink hair was threaded with red rubies; they shone like blood droplets in her hair. Her kimono was lilac and the black obi around her waist was tied loose so that her small baby bump wouldn't be pushed down. This was the future mother of Sasuke's child. Naruto was jealous; he wanted to be the only one with privilege of birthing Sasuke's children.

"So Naruto how has your new life been? It must be hard with your parents gone, huh?" Gaara asked.

Naruto nodded. He looked away from Sakura. He was getting irritated the longer he looked at her.

"Do you miss them?" Kiba was honestly curious. He couldn't imagine being separated from his parents. He thanked kaguya that he wasn't a submissive because only submissives had to marry into other clans and leave their family behind.

"Of course he misses them, who wouldn't?" Ino snapped. "If you're going to speak then say something intelligent!"

"Everything I say doesn't have to meet your standards!" Kiba growled.

"Yes it does!" Ino bit back.

"Shut up!" Gaara snapped. "Naruto's is talking,"

Ino and Kiba reluctantly dropped their argument and paid attention to Naruto. Gaara was related to the Uchiha king, which meant they couldn't anger him. They had to stay in the Uchiha clan's good graces.

"I do miss them," Naruto revealed, "I think about them a lot but it's getting easier. Since I have Sasuke it's not so hard."

"That's so cute!" Ten-ten squealed. "I didn't think Sasuke-kun was the type of dominant who could be reliable on account of how he is with Sakura-chan. I'm happy he's comforting you!"

"Yeah, I'm happy I have him too." Naruto noticed how Sakura's lips pursed when Ten-ten had spoken about Sasuke's treatment towards him. Was she jealous? Good, he wanted her to be. It was only fair. He didn't want to be the only one drowning in jealousy.

"But isn't it awkward being with Sasuke since you were betrothed to Itachi-san?" Kiba asked suddenly.

Naruto's face turned red. No one but Karin knew about how he had always been in love with Sasuke. Even though he and Sasuke were now married no one could know about the past. It was too shameful and he wouldn't want Itachi-san to know about it if he ever woke up.

"It isn't awkward, Sasuke is an easy person to fall in love with." Naruto said. It wasn't a complete lie. Sasuke was an easy alpha to love.

Sakura's eyes widened at the confession. She had no idea that Naruto was actually in love with Sasuke. She balled her hands up into fist. She wanted to hit Naruto's face. Didn't the idiot know that Sasuke-kun was hers?

"You've already fallen for him!?" Ten-ten gasped." Gah, if Itachi-san ever wakes up he'll-"

"Lets not speak of that." Gaara stopped Ten-ten from going any further. Naruto looked extremely uncomfortable with the topic.

"So, you love Sasuke-kun? When did that happen?" Ino asked in a clipped tone. The jealousy was practically oozing out of her lips.

"Probably when Sasuke was consummating the marriage, eh?" Kiba said jokingly.

"No way, do you think Sasuke-kun actually did that with someone his brother was in love with? That'd be biggest betrayal ever." Ino said icily.

It was obviously too much for Naruto. He looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack. Gaara felt bad for him. He didn't know the intricacies of Naruto and Sasuke's relationship but he knew it wasn't anyone's business but their own. He stood up.

"I said not to speak on this topic anymore!" Gaara roared.

"Sorry." Kiba and Ino said in unison. They didn't look sorry but the words were enough for Gaara to sit back down. At least Naruto look relieved now.

"The wedding was beautiful, you're so lucky!" Ten-ten suddenly gushed excitedly. She was an expert at changing the subject.

She was the only submissive in the entire group aside from Naruto who appeared genuinely happy about the wedding.

Ino and Sakura had matching frowns on their faces. Their sour attitude had been present all throughout the afternoon. Even though there were dominants present at the dining table Ino's and Sakura expressions remained uninviting.

"Yes, the ceremony was certainly memorable, the lucky wealthy few from Suna who were privileged with going to the wedding have been talking non-stop about you." Gaara chorused.

"Of course they are, to them Naruto's oh-so beautiful with his blonde hair and blue eyes." Ino said mockingly, "they better be just as excited about my wedding! My hair is just as blond and my eyes are just as blue as Naruto's!"

"I wouldn't agree with that, Naruto-kun's hair is as bright as the sun on a summer day while yours is the color of straw after it has been dampened by the morning dew. And your eyes are a completely different shade of blue." Ten-ten said calmly. Once again her intense like for Naruto was showing. Normally she wouldn't have had the guts to go against Ino, much less to comment on her appearance, but she liked Naruto too much to allow Ino to ever think that she and Naruto were of equal beauty. She was innocently idolizing Naruto and she didn't even know it.

"Take that back!" Ino shouted angrily. "I don't know what's gotten into you lately but I think you're going crazy. My hair is the brightest of all. You shouldn't even be talking since your hair is literally mud brown." Ino said snootily.

"Who the hell cares about hair and eye color? That stuff isn't important, look at Hinata-chan, her hair is as black as ash and she's still one of the most beautiful submissives to have ever been born. You submissives care about the dumbest things."

"You would say that since your hairs also the color of mud, you dog." Ino glared. "And Hinata isn't even beautiful, she can't even speak without stuttering like an idiot! Why do you like such weak submissives, it's annoying."

"Why do you care about what kind of submissives I like? I like what I like and you shouldn't question it since who I like has nothing to do with you!"

"Okay enough" Gaara banged his fist on the table. "No more fighting, have you both forgotten that we're guests here? Have some manners." Gaara rubbed his temples in an attempt to stave off the oncoming headache that he could already feel forming. Every time he was with Ino and Kiba they ended up fighting, and he wasn't even with them much on the account that he lived in a completely different country and only saw them whenever they were all simultaneously at the Uchiha palace. It was obvious flirting and it was beyond ridiculous. He'd never seen two people with a more obvious attraction to one another. He seriously had to do something about it.

"Anyways..." Ten-ten began again, "I think your wedding will go down as one of the most extravagant in all of Fire Country, I don't even think my own wedding will compare! I knew Uchiha wedding ceremonies were extravagant but I didn't think they could be so grand, even Sakura-chan's wedding to Sasuke-san wasn't as amazing! It's clear that you hold the highest power between the two of you!"

There was an awkward silence. The odd marital situation between Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura was a topic that hadn't been discussed yet. The group of royals were all curious about it but none of them had dared to bring it up. Even Ino had kept her lips sealed.

"What did you just say?" Sakura hissed.

"I didn't mean it offensively Sakura-chan! I was just stating the obvious!" Ten-ten explained quickly. Her young age was often times forgotten due to her maturity but at times like this it was obvious she was still a child because only a child would have the guts to bring up such a sensitive topic.

"I was married to Sasuke-kun first which means I hold more power than Naruto." Sakura said through tight lips. Her words were directed at Ten-ten but her furious eyes were glaring at Naruto.

"Those dots on his forehead say otherwise." Ino said monotonously. She hated Naruto as much as she hated Sakura.

"Sasuke's mine, those dots mean nothing. I'm pregnant with his child; once I give birth to his son you will all see exactly who holds all the power. Sasuke can play with Naruto all he wants but at the end of the day I am the mother of his first born child."

Naruto was strangely quiet. His blue eyes stared ahead as if Sakura hadn't said anything. His unresponsiveness was odd to the group of royals.

"I didn't mean to start an argument, I was just really amazed by the grandness of Naruto-kun's wedding." Ten-ten said apologetically. "I've never seen anything like it, it was like how I'd imagine an emperors wedding."

Sakura turned her head away dismissively. She clearly didn't care for Ten-tens reasoning.

"Everything was so pretty, especially you Naruto-kun. You're kimono was dazzling."

"Thank you." Naruto beamed at Ten-ten's adorable fascination with his ceremony. He liked her, he once again found himself thinking that she'd make a great friend.

"I seriously mean it, everything about your wedding was magical, even the chairs were gold!"

"Enough we get it, you liked the wedding." Ino snarled.

"Ah, sorry!" Ten-ten apologized. Her cheeks flamed red in embarrassment. "I really liked it so I can't stop talking about it! I can't get over how luxurious everything was!"

"Rich bastards, Uchiha's might as well wear clothes made of money. The entire wedding was just a big show of how much money they have." Kiba muttered. His fight with Ino was making him more irritated than normal. His distracted state allowed the thoughts he usually kept hidden to slip out.

"Careful, Kiba." Gaara warned. "That's my family you're talking about. Just because Itachi is no longer here doesn't mean you can say and do as you please. Sasuke holds all the power Itachi once did, if he hears what you're saying about his wedding ceremony it might anger him. My little cousin is not as forgiving as his older brother so It'd be wise for you to watch what you say from now on."

"Y-yes!" Kiba bowed. He was embarrassed. Being reprimanded by another dominant in front of so many submissives was humiliating. It was even worse that Gaara was such a effeminate looking dominant, it was like being scolded by a submissive. He hated it even more that Ino was here to witness it.

"It's okay, Gaara-san." Naruto smiled brightly. "Sasuke isn't here right now so no harm done. But Kiba-kun I hope you never say such things in front of my husband. He might just kill you." Naruto giggled.

Kiba gulped. It wasn't until this moment that Kiba had ever been frightened by something a submissve had said. Naruto was strange. It was like he had some secret power. How could he say such a thing and the laugh like an angel afterwards?

"Speaking of Sasuke-san, where is he?" Ten-ten asked cheerfully. They had been gathered together for nearly twenty minutes now and Sasuke hadn't showed up at all yet. It was strange since he was the head of the palace he should've come and welcomed them by now.

"He had an urgent meeting with his father so he had to train at a different time today so he's probably still training or bathing." Naruto replied. He didn't even take a moment to think about where Sasuke was, it was like he already knew without having to give it a second of thought.

Sakura's anger flared. How dare Naruto act like he knew everything about Sasuke? Sasuke was hers so she should've been the one to answer about Sasuke's whereabouts. Naruto had no right to speak on Sasuke's behalf, that right was reserved for the first wife.

"Uchiha-sama, would you like more tea?" A maid carrying a china teapot abruptly asked.

"No my cups still half full, are you blind or just stupid?" Sakura hissed heatedly in reply.

"I was actually talking to Naruto-sama." The maid squeaked. Her shoulders trembled with fear as she bowed at Sakura in apology.

Sakura's entire face boiled red in anger. That was the last straw. She had had enough of Naruto. She had finally boiled over and was about to explode but before she could get up and wring Naruto's neck Sasuke walked into the room.

"Nice of you to finally grace us with your presence, cousin." Gaara teased.

The royals stood up and bowed. Sasuke was now a king. His title was above all of them. All but Naruto stood, as a sovereign he was of equal status as Sasuke.

Sasuke ran his hands through his damp black hair in an uncaring manner. His dark eyes were rooted on his submissive. Naruto blushed when he caught Sasuke's stare. He stared shyly back. He had missed Sasuke.

"That's enough." Sasuke gestured to the royals to sit back down.

"How was your bath Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked quickly. Her anger towards Naruto was momentarily forgotten since Sasuke was present. This was the first time she got to see Sasuke today; he looked so beautiful with his damp hair and royal red haori and black hakama. His king aura he emitted was attractive.

"Naruto, where were you, I thought I told you to wait for me. I wanted you to bathe with me." Sasuke went to sit by Naruto. No one commented on how Sasuke had just ignored Sakura.

"I know, I'm sorry. But Gaara-san and all of your friends came to visit so I couldn't just leave them." Naruto

"Sorry, I sort of made him join us." Gaara confessed.

"So, you listen to my cousin and disobey my orders? I'm hurt ."Sasuke said teasingly. "And here I thought you loved me."

"It's not like that, I'm sorry!"

Sasuke boldly wrapped his arm around Naruto's waist. He let his lips feather up Naruto's neck and ended at his ear, "I know, I'm just joking with you, love." Sasuke placed a bite to Naruto's earlobe.

"Sasuke's so mean." Naruto's breath hitched when Sasuke pulled away.

"And yet you still love me." Sasuke said as he flashed that sultry smirk of his that Naruto loved.

"Yes, I do." Naruto blushed. He looked away, Sasuke's face was too pretty. He wanted to kiss him.

"So, how has being king been?"

"It has been interesting to say the least."

"I always knew you would become a king, Sasuke-kun. A regent was too low of a title for you." Sakura cradled her stomach, "now our son can be a proper king when he grows up."

Everyone looked at Sakura as if she had just grown a second head.

"Everyone please leave, I have to have a word with Sakura." Sasuke said stoically. "Naruto, stay."

"As you wish, we'll be in the tea room. Come join us when you're done, cousin."

The royals got up and left. Ino didn't want to leave, she wanted to see what Sasuke-kun was going to say to that dumb bitch Sakura but she couldn't defy Sasuke-kuns command so she reluctantly left with the others.

"Sakura, your child will never be king of the Uchiha clan. Don't say such an embarrassing thing again." Sasuke said as soon as they were alone.

"What are you saying Sasuke-kun? Of course our son will be a future king of the Uchiha clan, you are a king so he will inherit your title."

"I thought my father told you but your child will be nothing, the child Naruto births will be the future ruler of the Uchiha clan. I also thought I made this clear at my wedding."

"Naruto?" Sakura shrieked, "That isn't fair! He's the second submissive! I'm pregnant right now, our child will be born fist which means he should be the one to inherit the throne!" Sakura threw herself onto Sasuke's lap and wrapped her thin arms around his neck. "I love you Sasuke-kun, our child deserves to be your heir." Sakura kissed Sasuke's lips. The moment Sakura's lips touched Sasuke's she was sent whirling back.

Sakura was momentarily disoriented. It felt as if a strong gust of wind had blown her back. She rubbed her head, which had banged against the floor and sat up. She gasped when she saw Naruto glaring at her with unabashed hatred in his eyes. There was a strange blue ball whirling around in his hands. Was that what had hit her?

"I've kept my mouth shut all afternoon," the scars on Naruto's cheeks began to look strangely darker, they looked liked whiskers on a wild animal. "All the things that you've said today that have angered me I've chosen to ignore but if you ever kiss Sasuke like that in front of me again I'll kill you." Naruto's hands were shaking as he spoke. The blue ball was flickering off and on. His small body created a barrier between Sasuke and Sakura so that he could guard what was his. "Sasuke is my mate, you are married to him but you don't have this." Naruto dispersed the ball and pulled down the collar of his kimono and showcased his mating mark. It was still bruised but no longer red. The teeth marks were now fully visible.

Sakura gasped. "W-what is that!?"

"It's my mating mark." Sasuke said as he kissed the mark. "It means I've claimed Naruto as mine. He's the only one I want, but you already knew that didn't you, Sakura?"

"But you have no choice but to also want me! Ever since Naruto came along you've been ignoring me. I demand attention too! I'm also your wife or have you forgotten that? You can't spend every night with Naruto; I also crave your affection. You haven't been holding up on your end of the bargain, the alliance with my clan dictates that you must-"

"That I must marry you and impregnate you?" Sasuke laughed dryly, "I have done both of those things, there is nothing else that binds me to you."

"Your son binds me to you!" Sakura screamed, "Do you want your son to be born into this world knowing that his father doesn't love him!"

"You chose that reality when you forced me to accept your marriage bid!" Sasuke yelled back. "This is the life you get for forcing your love onto people who don't want it."

Sakura was speechless.

Sasuke stood up and brought Naruto up along with him. "You shouldn't get so worked up, love. I don't want you expending energy over something so meaningless." Sasuke kissed Naruto hand that had wielded the rasengan moments ago.

Naruto fury filled eyes slowly settled back into their normal docile expression. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. When I saw her touch I completely lost it."

"It's fine, let's go. I think Sakura needs a moment alone."

Sakura wailed in fury as Sasuke left the tearoom. His retreating back grew smaller and smaller and finally the door slid shut and Sasuke was completely gone. She pulled angrily at her hair, tearing at the long tresses madly. She wouldn't let Sasuke leave her so easily. Naruto didn't know what a huge mistake he had made by coming between her and Sasuke, he would pay dearly for taking her love away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm aware my story isn't doing so good on here but I still want to say that I'm grateful for the few readers that I do have who leave kudos and comments <3 I seriously appreciate you guys!


	7. Kiss of Fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains Sakura bashing. If you can't handle that then please don't continue reading. There are plenty other wonderful stories on here that paint Sakura in a positive light, go read one of them instead. Thank you.

"You want to throw a what?" Mikoto gawked. She was seated on a plush satin chair by the marble fireplace. The chilly winter air was bitterly cold but the fireplace was soothing the frigid temperature of the palace to a comfortable warmness. A black wolf pelt covering her thin shoulders was warming her up even more.

"Yes a party, to properly celebrate my initiation into the Uchiha clan." Naruto explained excitedly. He was sitting in a similar chair next to Mikoto. There was a small oval table between them that had their piping hot tea on it. Naruto's red kimono was layered extra thick for the cold weather. Unlike Mikoto's wolf pelt, Naruto's pelt was made of orange fox fur. The orange pelt's stark contrast with the blood red color of his kimono made Naruto's blue eyes stand out more than usual. "Now that things have settled down I want to do something a little special to celebrate."

Naruto adored the Uchiha people; they were a stoic yet immensely proud clan. The pride they held for their powerful bloodline was awe-inspiring. It was a culture that was so different than Naruto's own that he couldn't help but love it. It was easy to love the Uchiha clan though since a vast majority of them loved Naruto in return. They knew he was from a powerful clan and they were proud that their clan was the lucky one chosen by the Uzumaki clan to produce an heir with. Naruto had never thought that it'd be so easy to assimilate into a new clan, he had heard stories of other omegas who had traveled to their dominants clans to settle into their new lives but as soon as they arrived they were treated as an outsider by their alpha's clansmen. Naruto wanted to show the Uchiha people how grateful he was for them welcoming him so warmly. A party would be the perfect way to do that.

"I want to thank the Uchiha clan for their warm welcome." Naruto's face glowed in the firelight as he spoke. But even without the fires warm light Naruto's face always seemed to be glowing lately.

Mikoto raised her brow. "I don't see any problem with that but I don't know how my husband will feel about it, I don't think he will like it."

Naruto resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Fugaku-san never likes anything!" The fire crackled just then, it added a dramatic flare to Naruto's statement.

Mikoto giggled and nodded her head. "It's true. My husband is very hard to please."

"Then it's settled we're throwing a party, maybe I can do something special for Sasuke like a dance! I can dress in traditional Uzumaki dance clothing! I'll need to send Konan into town to buy the required garments; I'll need a corset and some blue fabric. Oh and lots of fans!"

"I'm not so sure about the corset, you shouldn't wear one especially at a public place like a party."

"Why not?" Naruto blinked rapidly. Confusion radiated from his innocent blue eyes.

"I'm sorry Naruto." Mikoto suddenly said.

Naruto's confusion deepened, he glanced at Mikoto worriedly. "For what?"

"Living here must be hard for someone like you isn't it? I heard about how you attacked Sakura yesterday with a jutsu."

"Yeah I did..." Naruto frowned. He was slightly embarrassed that Mikoto knew about how he had lost control of his temper.

"I know it's hard sharing a dominant but you can't let things like that happen again. Submissives here don't behave like that."

"What do you mean?"

"I can see why Kushina was so concerned about leaving you here. You're so strong willed." Mikoto sighed, "Submissives here don't share the same rules as in your country. Us submissives aren't allowed to perform jutsus or other things like that. If we lose our temper we don't do things like attack the person who angered us. The rules here are much different for us that's why I'm worried that If you put on a dance in front of all the dominants while wearing revealing clothing like a corset I fear that Sasuke will get angry with you."

Naruto laughed, a melodious lit in the quiet room. "Sasuke would never get mad over such a thing."

"Naruto, what do you call dominants in your country?"

"Alphas?"

"Exactly, you have a completely different name for them. Alphas are not dominants, I'm sure you've realized that by now. The things that submissives in your country can do aren't the same as the things submissives can do here."

"I know that but," Naruto bit his lip; he knew that submissives were incredibly restricted in the Uchiha clan but he wasn't a regular submissive. He had power that other submissives could only dream of attaining. "I am now part of the Uchiha clan and I want to instill some of my own values into my new clan. I plan to change the way submissives are treated in our clan. As a sovereign I feel as if it's my duty to do this."

"I admire your bravery and optimism but I don't think your dream of changing things will go as you desire. The Uchiha clan has been the way it is since the creation of the clan. My son isn't as open minded as you think."

"You? Change things? Hah, you sound ridiculous, Naruto." Sakura laughed mockingly as she paraded into the sitting room. Her black kimono was disheveled as if she had dressed herself. Her long pink hair was completely loose, not a single ornament was in it. She looked as if she hadn't slept at all. Naruto looked away, after what happened yesterday he didn't want to see her so soon. He was tempted to leave so he wouldn't have to be in her presence but he wouldn't allow her to get the better of him.

"Submissives should know their place, right Mikoto-san?" Sakura sat in the empty seat next to Mikoto. Her jade green eyes glared ahead at the burning fire. The glow of the firelight made her pale face look like a delicate painting.

"Yes, you're right. But I also think having a party and Naruto performing a dance is a good idea although I don't agree with the attire."

Sakura lips hardened into a thin line. She had thought Mikoto would take her side. She looked away from the fire and made eye contact with Naruto. A terrifyingly fake smile blossomed across her pink lips.

"I guess you're right Mikoto-san. Throwing a party is a good idea and Sasuke-kun does love dances. Naruto, have I ever told you that I met Sasuke-kun at a ball? I danced the night away and he couldn't take his eyes off of me." Sakura's eyes closed as she reminisced on the long-ago memory. "The moment I saw him I knew he'd be mine," Sakura opened her eyes and pinned Naruto with a murderous look. "He was always meant to be mine, Kaguya wouldn't have given me Sasuke's child if he weren't."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. He held onto the armchair, if he let go he knew he'd attack Sakura again just like he did yesterday. It was tempting; he wanted to put a rasengan through her stomach. But he couldn't do such a thing when Sasuke had told him to not waste energy on Sakura and besides Mikoto was here, he wouldn't act so barbaric while his mother-in-law was in the room, especially after she had just reprimanded him.

Mikoto was oblivious to the drama happening between Naruto and Sakura. She was too worried about the fact that Sakura was still claiming to be pregnant. She had slipped the poison into Sakura's drink weeks ago, shouldn't have Sakura already lost the baby?

"You should do a fan dance," Sakura continued in a snide tone, "those are Sasuke-kun's favorite." Sakura said as if she were an expert on all things pertaining to the Uchiha king. "I once performed a fan dance for Sasuke-kun and he said it was the most spectacular dance he had ever seen."

Naruto really wanted to ignore Sakura. She was like a yapping dog, barking and never shutting up. Just hearing her voice irritated him. All the things she had said yesterday still bothered him. He was irritated with the thought that Sasuke had once liked Sakura's dancing. It seemed like a ridiculous thing to be jealous over considering that Sakura was currently pregnant with Sasuke's child but Naruto had been feeling extra territorial over Sasuke lately, especially when it came to Sakura.

"I don't think it will be wise for my master to take advice from a princess who believes something as archaic as 'submissives should stay in their places'." Konan said quietly. She was standing behind Naruto's chair and had been witnessing the malicious looks Sakura had been sending her master.

Sakura's face turned red in anger. She glared at the purple haired handmaiden. "I have royal blood in my veins unlike you! My words hold much more value than yours! Who are you to speak so rudely to someone who has a much higher title than you! Control your maid Naruto before I do it for you!"

Konan whipped out a kunai and aimed it at Sakura's head. She would be hanged for killing a princess but she'd kill anyone for her master. She drew back her hand and was about to throw the kunai when Naruto's soft voice stopped her.

"It's fine, Konan." Naruto grabbed the kunai from Konan's hand and pricked his finger on the sharp end. He watched as the tiny drop of blood fell from his fingertip. He raised his hand and poked his finger into Konan's mouth. She swallowed in shock and looked down at her master alarmingly.

"Now she has royal blood in her just like you except the difference is she has the ability to actually kill you." Naruto gazed at Sakura, his normally bright blue eyes were dulled due to his hatred for her, "I'll put on a dance for my mate and I'll show him a type of dance that blows away everything he's ever seen before." Naruto stated. "I'll do it because he's mine and not yours."

"So you're really going through with the dance?" Mikoto asked, astonishment colored her voice, "Then there's so much that'll need to be prepared. Oh, but don't forget to ask my husband for permission to throw the party-"

"I will do no such thing." Naruto cut Mikoto off, his angry eyes were burning with fury, "and I will not ask permission or be hesitant about my decision. I will dance and if Fugaku-san hates it then he'll just have to get used to things changing around here, I may be a submissive but as the days go by I'm realizing that my power is no longer contained to only one title. I have many, I am the sovereign of the most powerful clan in Fire Country, I'm a god to those who worship me, and I'm everything that Sasuke wants me to be. These three dots on my forehead are sacred to me; they pronounce my status to all. I am no ordinary submissive."

Mikoto nodded sadly. Naruto was digging his own grave. No matter how much power he held he couldn't change an entire clan all on his own. She knew this better than anyone else; she had been a sovereign too and had long ago held dreams similar to his. She'd just have to support Naruto, as a fellow submissive that was all she could do.

"We shall see about that." Sakura grinned. If Naruto thought he could do as he pleased then he had another coming. Fugaku would never allow it. If there was one thing she could count on it was Fugaku finally putting Naruto in his place.

* * *

Later on that day Naruto stood by the palace entrance and waited for Sasuke to return from his outing with his father. Earlier that morning Sasuke had told him that he'd be back by sundown. Naruto hadn't been asked to wait by the door but he wanted to. He was excited to tell Sasuke about his plan for the party. The only person whose permission Naruto wanted was Sasuke's. Naruto patiently waited. It wasn't until twenty minutes later that Sasuke finally arrived.

"What a treat," Sasuke encircled his arms around Naruto's small waist and hoisted him up so that he could kiss Naruto's lips without having to bend down. "The first thing I get to see when I walk in is my beautiful submissive. Did you miss me?"

"Of course, I missed Sasuke all day." Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke's neck, his feet dangled in the air as he kissed the beautiful lips of his alpha. He loved when Sasuke held him like this. He felt so loved and protected.

"You're very eager today, I can see how much you missed me." Sasuke chuckled. "What did you do all day?" Sasuke sniffed along Naruto's neck. After being out all day he craved Naruto's scent more than usual.

"Actually there is something I want to talk to you about..." Naruto's breath hitched when Sasuke bit his neck.

"Hmm, about what?" Sasuke skimmed his lips to the side and nibbled on Naruto's ear.

"I-I want-" Naruto moaned. His thoughts scattered under Sasuke's ministrations.

"What do you want?" Sasuke smirked. He gave a languid lick over Naruto's mating mark. "Let me guess, you want this?" Sasuke pressed his hips against Naruto so that his submissive could feel his hardening length against him.

"Yesss," Naruto blushed. "I want Sasuke's d-"

"What is this?" Fugaku glared at the inappropriate scene unfolding before him. He had lingered behind his son when exiting the carriage and had just walked into the palace. "Do I have to remind you that this isn't your bedroom, Sasuke?"

Sasuke quickly put Naruto down.

"Sorry father." Sasuke bowed.

"And you!" Fugaku scowled at Naruto. "Have some shame, a submissive shouldn't let off such an arousing scent when there's a potential for a man other than their dominant to smell it!"

"It was my fault father, sorry." Sasuke said swiftly. "I was the one who tempted Naruto."

"Don't let it happen again. Now lets forget all about this and have dinner like usual."

"Yes, father."

Naruto glared as Fugaku sauntered away. He had meant what he had said earlier. Things were going to change.

* * *

"I have an announcement." Naruto stood up from the dining table.

The occupants seated at the table were the usual ones, the royal family of the Uchiha clan. Fugaku, Mikoto, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura.

"I want to host a party."

"What?" Fugaku barked. "Sit back down and stop spouting nonsense."

"This isn't nonsense, Fugaku-san!" Naruto clenched his hands into fists. He was determined to have the party but still, Fugaku was an alpha and no matter how much power Naruto held he was still an omega. It was in his genes to fear alphas. "I'm not asking you for your approval! If Sasuke says yes then I will host this party!"

Fugaku's lips turned down into a scowl. "You sure do take after your mother, don't you? You have her bad habit of speaking as if you aren't a submissive. Now sit down, this is the second time today you've disappointed me."

Naruto held his tongue. He wanted to yell an insult at Fugaku. His mother was the perfect omega. "I'm sorry that you think that but-"

"Don't apologize, love." Sasuke ordered before Naruto could finish, "father, I appreciate your advisement in all that I do but I must ask you to never speak down to Naruto like that again, he's our clans sovereign which makes his rank higher than yours, please show some respect."

Fugaku was shocked. Even the maids diligently attending to the table paused; they couldn't believe the young king had just spoken out against his father. They had never seen anyone defy Fugaku. Even when Itachi had been well and conscious he had followed everything his father had told him. The maids scurried to the back of the room; they didn't want to be close by when the old Uchiha king replied. They had all heard the stories about how ruthless Fugaku could be on the battlefield. Even those who fought alongside him weren't safe, if they disobeyed his orders he'd burn them alive. The maids internally cried. Sasuke-sama had such a beautiful face it was too bad it'd be burned to crisps in a few seconds.

To everyone's utter amazement Fugaku remained calm. Instead he bowed to Sasuke. It was a foreign sight to see Fugaku bow; the last time anyone had seen it was when the emperor had visited to pay his respects to Itachi.

"Understood." Fugaku said cynically. "I'll respect your wishes since you are the new king. If you allow this party I'll support your ridiculous decision but be aware that your submissives actions reflect on our entire clan."

"I understand that and thank you, father."

Naruto sent an appreciative look at his mate. Sasuke had finally stood up to his father. Before Sasuke's coronation, Naruto didn't think Sasuke would've ever done anything to displease his father. It made Naruto proud; Sasuke was becoming such an excellent king. It'd make it much easier for him to implement all the changes he wanted to make for the submissives in the Uchiha clan.

"So I can host my party?" Naruto asked excited.

"Yes, you can have your party. I think it's a good idea." Sasuke smiled.

"But that's no fair!" Sakura shot up; she couldn't believe what was happening before her eyes. She had been part of the Uchiha clan for years and she had never seen a submissive get their way like Naruto just had. She had thought that at least Fugaku would've seen things her way. "How can you allow such a thing when I can't even-"

"Sit down! How dare you yell and cause a commotion in such a rude manner!" Fugaku roared. It was completely different than how he had handled Naruto. Sasuke didn't jump in and save her.

Sakura bit her lips and sat back down. She was going insane. Did this entire wretched family favor Naruto over her? Something had to change; this wasn't the life she was promised. She had to get rid of Naruto. The question was…how?

* * *

The next day Sakura disappeared from the palace. When the guards went up to check her sleeping chambers they found nothing, only her handmaiden who's throat had been slit from ear to ear. Naturally the popular assumption was that the princess had been stolen away in the middle of the night and her handmaiden had seen the culprit and as a result was murdered. There was no other possible explanation for why Sakura was missing. A search party was sent to look for her but as night fell it became clear that Sakura was no longer within the Uchiha clan boundary limits. Sasuke was happy that she was finally gone, if it were up to him he would've let her stay lost but his father insisted that without Sakura the treaty with the Haruno clan would be void so the search went on.

Naruto had been so blissfully consumed in preparing for the party that he was stunned to see Sakura sitting at their breakfast table when he came down the stairs one morning. She looked skinnier than the last time he had seen her. Her cheeks were hollow, her pink kimono looked a size too big on her, and all of her pretty long pink hair was cut off. It was short like an alphas, it fell to the middle of her pale neck in a bobbed hairstyle.

Only Mikoto and Sakura were seated at the table. Sasuke had left with his father earlier that morning to attend a council meeting.

"Good morning, mother." Naruto greeted Mikoto in the fashion he had been using since the night he married Sasuke.

Mikoto gasped. She was startled, she hadn't heard Naruto approaching.

"Good morning, sweetie, I thought you'd still be at the shrine, did you finish your prayers early?"

Naruto nodded and sat down. A maid hurriedly brought him a cup of tea and a plate of breakfast. "Yeah, to be honest I sort of rushed through prayers because Sasuke promised he'd come back early from the meeting today to have breakfast with me."

From the corner of his eyes Naruto saw Sakura's eyes looking in his direction. He debated whether or not he should acknowledge her. Despite his hatred for her he couldn't act like she didn't exist.

"Good morning, Sakura." Naruto decided to give it a try. If he was going to have to live with her he was going to at least try to get along with her. She was after all, having Sasuke's child.

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "Good morning, your highness."

Naruto ignored the sarcasm in her tone. He was above that.

"So, where have you been the last couple of days? We've been looking for you like crazy. Why did you cut off all of your hair?"

Sakura's face boiled red. The anger twisted her face into a terrifying expression, "You dare-"

"Sakura!" Mikoto yelled. "He doesn't know any better, watch yourself!"

"That's nonsense! He-"

"What are you doing yelling in my home, Sakura?" Sasuke's cold voice sent a shiver through the room.

Sakura words died on her lips. Her eyes had widened to the size of tea saucers.

"S-sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried.

Sasuke sat down beside Naruto. He needed to be by his submissive. He had had a long morning of dealing with the council.

"I'll repeat myself, what were you doing yelling in my home?"

"I-I...I'm sorry!" Sakura bowed.

"Why did you come back?" Sasuke asked coldly. He sniffed the air. He couldn't smell the sweet milk aroma in Sakura's scent anymore. Had she lost the baby? He wanted to smile but he didn't want to get his hopes up before he was absolutely sure. "Why don't I smell pregnancy on you anymore? What happened to the baby?"

Sakura touched her short hair self-consciously. "A few days ago when I was lying in bed I suddenly began to bleed profusely from down there. When I pulled my undergarments down to check what was wrong I found a glob of blood had come out of me."

Sasuke wanted to jump up for joy. So his speculation had been right, Sakura had indeed lost the baby.

"I immediately knew what it was. I put the glob into a cloth and then took a horse without telling anyone and rode to my clan. I thought they could fix it and put it back in me but when my father saw that I had miscarried he grew angry with me. I had disgraced him. In my clan, a princess who miscarries a baby is considered a bad omen for evil. Since I brought the omen to them my father punished me by cutting off my hair. He disowned me and basically told me that I was never allowed to go back to my clan ever again." Sakura was bawling her eyes out by the time she was done explaining what had happened.

Mikoto rubbed Sakura's back gently, as if Sakura would crumble to pieces is she applied too much pressure.

"Sakura came to me earlier this morning and explained everything, she was scared that if she told you you'd make her leave since now her fathers threat is meaningless. She even had to kill her handmaiden before she left so that she wouldn't tell you about the miscarriage." Mikoto hugged Sakura, "this poor princess has suffered enough, don't you think, Sasuke?"

Sasuke was in disbelief. Was his mother blind? Had she really just bought that overdramatic lie Sakura had just spouted? He rolled his eyes. He knew Sakura's true nature better than anyone else. She was manipulative and conniving. Whatever had really happened was definitely not that sad, over wrought, ridiculous story Sakura had just told.

"Leave immediately."

"Sasuke!" Mikoto glared.

"Fine, you have one hour to gather your things, then you must leave immediately."

"Sasuke!" Mikoto yelled. "She's staying, it'd be inhumane to send her out like this!"

Sasuke honestly couldn't believe his mother was making him do this. "Very well then, you can stay,"

"Ah! Thank you Sasuke-kun, I promise-"

"Let me finish." Sasuke glared. Sakura nodded obediently. "You can stay but you and I will destroy our marriage contract, you will no longer be my spouse and if you wish to live here you must earn your keep. The old house my parents gave us has already been sold so that isn't an option so don't ask."

"B-but Sasuke-kun, I love you! I don't want a divorce from you!" Sakura cried. "I'll work but I don't think I can ever give you consent to destroy our marriage contract!"

"Well, your consent isn't really needed so that's fine." Sasuke smirked, "you're no longer a princess which means you have no say. You can no longer threaten me and my clan with war if I don't love you anymore."

Sakura began to cry profusely. She was crying harder than when she was telling her story. Sasuke loved it; he could tell that he had ruined a part of whatever plan she had concocted. She may have been able to fool his mother, but she'd never fool him.

"Find work by the end of the week, if you can't find any you can work as a maid or handmaiden here. Give your earnings to me in two weeks time, also move into a maid sized room, oh and since I'm no longer your husband, call me Sasuke-san. Do you understand or do you need me to repeat myself?"

"No." Sakura shook her head solemnly.

"Good, I'm glad we were able to end this marriage amicably." Sasuke turned his attention to Naruto. He had been angry before he had even seen Sakura and now his mood had worsened tenfold. He really needed Naruto right now to calm him down.

"Love," Sasuke called. Naruto dragged his eyes away from Sakura's hunched over form and looked up into Sasuke's eyes.

"Yes?"

"I need you."

Naruto instantly understood. He blushed and stood up. He bowed at Mikoto for keeping him company and then left upstairs with Sasuke to "calm" his husband down.

The loud sound of Sasuke's room door shutting closed echoed throughout the spacious palace.

"Don't listen to my son. I promise I won't let him send you away. You are still part of our family whether he likes you or not."

Sakura looked up, her tears instantly stopped falling. She smirked wickedly. "You're a good actor Mikoto-san. I know that my baby is dead because of you."

Mikoto eyes widened. "I-I-that's not true!"

"Oh, shut up you old bat." Sakura replied monotonously. She pulled a cigarette out of the inside pocket of her kimono and lit it up. She took a slow drag and let the smoke billow out of her mouth, right into Mikoto's face. "Do you think I'm dumb? Did you honestly think that I wouldn't find out it was you!" Sakura laughed, her face was beautiful to behold but her eyes were filled with madness. "After I stopped bleeding that night I sat and thought about who could've killed my son. At first I thought it was the dumb blond, it made sense since he hates me as much as I hate him but then I thought about it longer. I thought about how I hadn't felt my son since that wretched day when Sasuke-kun got married to Naruto. And then I realized that the only person who had the opportunity and time to poison me during the wedding was you. You were the only one who could've poisoned me; you slipped something into that cup of water you gave me didn't you? I should've never trusted you!" Sakura wiped her tears, this time they were real but they weren't from sadness but from anger. "Because of you my father disowned me! But I guess I deserve it, I did try to kill him for refusing to kill you for what you did to me. Can you believe that bastard, he actually didn't believe me when I told him that you were the one who poisoned me." Sakura took another long drag, "All I wanted was to be a part of your family! All I wanted was for Sasuke-kun to love me! And you Mikoto-san killed all of my dreams and ruined my whole life the moment you killed my baby."

"It's much deeper than that, Sakura. I didn't do it maliciously, it was political! You have to understand I never intended to ruin your life!"

"Bullshit!" Sakura banged her fist on the table. "I'll never forgive you for what you did! I don't care why you did it! That baby was going to make Sasuke-kun love me!"

"Are you insane? My son would've never loved you; can't you see he harbors no romantic emotions for you? I must confess something; the only reason Sasuke actually went through with the treaty requirements and got you pregnant was because I forced him to. He had never planned on actually impregnating you."

"I don't care! Sasuke's child was still mine and not yours! You had no right to take it away from me!"

"Leave and forget all about this. I originally was going to allow you to stay here but now that you know what I've done I don't think you should. Your anger towards me will only drive you to insanity."

"I'm not going anywhere," Sakura set the half smoked cigarette stick out in Naruto's untouched plate of food. She smothered it around the perfect smooth porcelain as she dragged it back and forth. "What you did to me is unforgivable but I won't leave until I get back what's mine."

Mikoto cursed. This damn girl was too stubborn. "My son will never love you, can't you see that it's hopeless? He's in love with Naruto!"

"You know I've always thought you were one of the only people here who truly cared for me. But I can see I was wrong about that." Sakura laughed humorlessly. "From now on, you stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours."

Mikoto knew this was Kaguya finally giving her what she deserved. It is said karma was like doing something bad while Kaguya's two white eyes were closed. You may think she doesn't see you but she sees all with her third eye. She will always catch you and once she does she will send you triple the misfortune for trying to trick her.

This was Kaguya's infamous tripled misfortune being dealt to her and Mikoto was drowning in it. The day the seed of her misfortune was planted was when Sasuke had come to her pleading to not make him impregnate Sakura. He had looked like a drowning man then, unable to breathe. She had told he'd simply have to learn to swim.

She'd now have to learn to do the same.

* * *

Days of planning and sending out invitations had gone by. The party day had finally arrived. Naruto sat beside Sasuke on a golden throne. The party guests sat alongside them around a long dining table. There was wine and pork and every other delicacy one could ever crave being passed around. Music being played by geishas on shamisen wafted throughout the dining hall. The mood was joyous. Excitement filled the air.

"I'd like to give a toast of congratulations to Sasuke-san, the great dragon king who will bring forth another glorious reign of the uchiha clan!" Obito uchiha, a commander general in the Uchiha army, screamed at the top of his lungs.

His war cry riled the guests up; they roared back in agreement and raised their glasses up. "Hail the dragon king and his sovereign!" They chorused together then drank.

Since this was a party for Naruto's appreciation for the Uchiha clan the party guests mainly consisted of Uchiha clansmen with high titles. But a few royals from other notable clans had come to join in as well.

"My submissive would like to say something." Sasuke suddenly said.

The royals ceased their mindless side conversations and gave their full attention to Naruto.

"I'd like to say thank you to you all for coming. I invited you all here today for one important reason. You've all welcomed me into your clan and have made me feel like I belong. As your new sovereign I have many plans for the future, I won't reveal them right now but I hope once I do you all continue to treat me as warmly as you do now." Naruto smiled a blinding bright smile to the clansmen. Even in the muted light Naruto's smile managed to shine as bright as the sun.

The royals hooted. "A cheer for our new sovereign!" Obito yelled. "The most beautiful submissive in Fire Country!"

* * *

Naruto paced back and forth behind the stage curtain. The party so far had been going smoothly. All of his planning had paid off; the Uchiha clan now knew how grateful he was to them. But what he was about to do could potentially mess everything up.

He took a deep breath and motioned for the stagehand to raise the curtain. He was going to do this. He was going to show Sasuke a dance he'd never forget. This was more than just a dance, it was going to be his rebirth; a statement to his newly appointed clan that he was no ordinary submissive but someone to be respected and feared. It would cement in their and Fugaku's head that he wasn't weak, he was a leader.

Sasuke sat in the first row of the audience. After the dinner the guests had all been transported to the palace theatre. The stage was lit up in a soft purple hue. There were burning candles scattered at the corner of the stage and four geishas were playing their shamisen. A young maiko with stringy hair and pigeon toed feet stood behind the pretty geishas and played a chilling melody on a wooden shakuhachi. As the music swelled the curtain pulled open. The purple light illuminated the sole figure in the center of the stage. Naruto was dressed in a hooded robe and his face was hidden. There were two black fans in both his hands and he held them crossed over his head.

The enchanting flute grew eerie; a supernatural chill ran through Sasuke's spine. Naruto began to move forward across the stage, it wasn't until then that Sasuke noticed that Naruto's black lacquered geta were tremendously high. They were so high that instead of picking up his feet and walking normally, Naruto slid them across the stage. The hypotonic way in which he moved was snake like, slithering across the floor.

Naruto stopped when he arrived at the middle of the stage. The flute grew even more chilling and then Naruto dropped his heavy robe, revealing his outlandish outfit underneath.

Sasuke stared in shock. Naruto's black kimono was cut at a bizarre angle. The back end of his kimono was long and trailed behind him but the front was short and barely covered Naruto's thighs. His kimono sleeves were similar; the back part was long and trailed to the floor and the front stopped at his wrist. His small waist was bound in a deep red corset and was laced with black string. Naruto had painted his face in a white powder and his lips were a blood red, the same color as the three dots on his forehead. His blond hair was loose and fell to the small of his back. It swayed as he moved his arms down and fluttered the fans to the tune of the music.

Every inch of Sasuke's body wanted to go up on the stage and cover Naruto up. Naruto's body was his and no one had the right to get such an intimate glimpse of it. But as Naruto continued dancing Sasuke found himself transfixed, he couldn't move, Naruto's dance was strangely hypotonic.

The flute abruptly stopped and the sound of drums being banged erratically started. Sasuke couldn't even locate who was playing the drums because the second they began Naruto's fans erupted into a blaze of dazzling fire. Naruto stepped down from his high geta and began to dance with the flaming fans. His bare feet ran wildly around the stage, the rhythmic thumping of the drum added to the frenzy of the dance. Naruto was an expert, his dance appeared chaotic and crazed but as Sasuke watched he saw Naruto's talent shine through. Naruto's nimble fingers twirled the burning fans around in every direction, up into the hair as he twirled around and then caught them each as if it were easy. His blond hair spinning wildly around him as he moved frantically around the stage blurred and began to look like a flame itself. Naruto was fire incarnate. The drum slowed down and the unsettling sound of the flute began again. Naruto stopped and fell to the middle of the floor, he brought the flaming fans up to his mouth. He kissed the fire and as if it were magic the flames burst brighter, so bright that it appeared that Naruto had blew fire from his moth. The flame turned an angry red and then like a candle being turned off, the fire blew away into smoke.

The guest erupted into applause. Some were even crying and others were kneeling at Naruto's feet as if he were a god.

"He controls fire as if he were born to do it, he's become a true dragon!" Obito exclaimed proudly.

"Only a true Uchiha could command fire so fearlessly!" Another Uchiha clansmen roared.

"All hail our sacred sovereign!"

The guests all bowed to Naruto. Naruto smiled down at them. His blue eyes were filled with admiration for his clan.

"My sovereign of the dragons." Sasuke murmured as he watched Naruto bask in his praise. He was still stuck in a trance. What he had just witnessed would forever be imprinted in his mind. His blood was swirling with desire. Naruto's strength shone through the dance and Sasuke wanted every part of it. He wanted to eat Naruto up and claim him over and over again. He knew Naruto was powerful but this was power on a whole new level.

Naruto took his final bow and went behind the curtain to get dressed.

Sasuke excused himself and made his way to backstage where he knew Naruto would be.

* * *

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, he had done it, the dance had been a success. Even if the dance had been ill received it would've all been worth it just to see that expression on Sasuke's face. Sasuke had looked so entranced, like he was obsessed with every move he made. Naruto loved Sasuke's transfixed gaze, it made him feel so powerful. Sasuke was the strongest alpha in the entire Uchiha clan, he was king, and Naruto, a mere omega, had that powerful alpha eating out of the palm of his hand. In a figurative sense Naruto felt like a god and in a literal sense he was one. The Uchiha clans fervent chanting proved it. Naruto wished he had seen the look on Fugaku's face when the clansmen began cheering. All night Fugaku has been scowling. It wasn't surprising; Mikoto had said Fugaku wouldn't like his dance. He had been so wrapped up in the swell of emotions the chanting caused that he had forgotten all about his father-in-laws face. He really wished he had gotten a peek of it though, just to see how angry all of the praising the clan gave him made Fugaku.

Naruto set his fans down on the vanity. He was on an adrenaline high. He wanted to get changed quickly so he could go back out and go see Sasuke.

"That was absolutely amazing, master!" Konan exclaimed as she came through the curtain. Her amber eyes were lit with excitement as she stood dutifully beside Naruto. "You were like a spirit gliding across the stage, I was brought to tears!"

Naruto laughed, delighted by Konan's enthusiastic mood. "You're too kind, Konan."

"It's true though, I haven't seen you dance so beautifully since you performed the sun dance when you turned ten! That was magical, master, Lady Kushina would've loved to have seen it!"

"Yes, she would've." Naruto eyes crinkled as he smiled broadly. He dearly wished his mother had been here to see it too.

"Sasuke-sama looked pretty happy too. He didn't look away from you once."

Naruto blushed. "I know."

"You really do love him don't you, master?"

"Yes." Naruto's face felt hot as he thought about his alpha. He wished Sasuke were here.

Konan smiled wistfully. Her master grew aroused so easily. Well, it wasn't that shocking considering what Naruto's body was going through right now.

"Is it hot in here or is it just me?" Naruto fanned himself with one his fans. A light sheen of sweat covered his dewy skin. His cheeks were bright red and he was breathing shallowly. The dance was tiring but it shouldn't have made him feel this exhausted.

"It's actually quite cold master." Konan said worriedly. It was winter, it was cold enough indoors that a fire always had to be burning in order to maintain a comfortable temperature. Konan poured some water from a chalice on the vanity into a cup and handed it over to Naruto. "Here drink some water, you must be overheated from all the dancing."

Naruto drank the water down in one gulp. It failed to alleviate his sudden heat stroke. "I feel so...hot?" Naruto wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I feel weird, Konan. My body is aching."

Konan's eyes widened in realization. "Master, how long ago was your wedding?"

"Almost three weeks ago." Naruto was breathing hard now; the ends of his bangs were twined together due to the sweat that had clumped the hair together. "Why? Konan, I'm scared my body feels weird!"

Konan abruptly drew her kunai and stood in front of Naruto. There was a rustling sound and then the curtain billowed open.

Before Sasuke even walked into the room Naruto smelled him. His unique powerful scent was easily recognizable; Naruto was especially sensitive to it. It was the smell he adored more than anyone else's in the entire world. The familiar smell calmed him down momentarily but then just as quickly his body temperature spiked up into a scorching hot temperature. He doubled over and clutched his sides.

"Konan, help me!" Naruto groaned.

"What's wrong with him?!" Sasuke exclaimed worriedly. He ran to Naruto's side and held Naruto's burning hot hands in his. "Love, what's wrong?! Did Konan do this to you?"

Konan narrowed her eyes. "I would never harm my master."

"Then what's wrong with him?" Sasuke yelled. Naruto was burning up. His hands felt like two hot coals.

"He's reached the apex of his heat!"

"His what!?" Sasuke had never heard the word before.

"His heat...don't tell me you don't know what a heat is?" Konan said in disbelief, "You didn't notice? Omegas get their first heat the moment they are first sexually stimulated. Their heats last three weeks and then afterward they will get their heat every three months. The moment you first entered my master his heat began. I thought you knew, that's why he's been so insistent with wanting you to bed him so many times. Please help him, since it's nearing three weeks he has now reached the end of his heat!"

Sasuke gaped. It now all made sense. The reason Naruto had been needier than any other submissive he had ever bedded wasn't because of Naruto's personality it was because of this thing... his heat. No wonder Naruto always wanted him inside.

Naruto grabbed tightly onto Sasuke's shoulder "it hurts!" Naruto panted. "My body feels like its on fire!"

"Please help him!" Konan cried out.

"How?" Sasuke held Naruto up. He looked seconds away from passing out.

"Bed him! You have to satisfy his craving, the only thing that can calm his heat is you!"

"Leave." Sasuke ordered.

Konan nodded quickly. "Please be gentle, this is my masters first heat. I'll be waiting right outside if you should need anything." Konan bowed and then left.

"Where does it hurt," Sasuke murmured to Naruto as soon as Konan was gone. Naruto's face was now bright red. His eyes were glassed over and his body was trembling. Sasuke's heart kicked a little as he took in Naruto's weakened state. Naruto looked completely different than how he had looked earlier on stage. His powerful sovereign had been reduced to a panting, glassy eyed mess.

"It hurts everywhere." Naruto breathed out.

Sasuke grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled him against his body.

"I thought I told you to never wear constricting things around your stomach." Sasuke untied the black strings of Naruto's corset and took it off. Naruto's odd kimono fluttered open, revealing the lace panties and bare chest underneath.

"I'm sorry," Naruto sobbed. "I just wanted to look good for you."

Naruto had done an excellent job of "looking good for him," Sasuke drank in the sight of his submissive. Naruto looked so enticing, even with the corset gone. His bare thighs and pink nipples were alluring, so pleasing that Sasuke couldn't help himself. He ran his hand down Naruto's chest, his stomach, and then stopped when his hand reached Naruto's curved hip. He kissed the mating mark on Naruto's neck as he inched his hand to the side, closer and closer- the anticipation was making Naruto cry. The small whimpers escaping from Naruto's blood red lips were beautiful to Sasuke's ears. He ended the anticipation by finally putting his hand over Naruto's groin. Sasuke looked at his and Naruto's reflection in the vanity mirror. His little love looked like the perfect picture of lust. In the mirror Naruto looked so much like a girl it was shocking. The long blond hair, the painted face, the tiny waist, the short legs and pillowy lips-everything appeared female but the proof of Naruto's true gender was lying right beneath his hand-standing so erect that it'd be hard for anyone who felt it to mistake Naruto as anything but male.

"Sasuke please!" Naruto rubbed his body against Sasuke's. He felt he'd really pass out if Sasuke didn't put it inside him this second. "Please put it in me!"

Sasuke kissed Naruto's burning hot forehead and then turned Naruto around. He pulled the kimono the rest of the way off.

"Hold onto the vanity."

Naruto's shaky arms grabbed on tightly to the edge of the vanity. He mewled when Sasuke pulled his underwear down and parted his asscheeks.

"God, you're soaking wet." Sasuke ran his finger against Naruto's hole. It was twitching, begging to be filled.

"Sasuke...inside." Naruto pushed his ass back against Sasuke's finger. "It hurts so much with you not inside me!"

Sasuke freed his dick from his hakama, he put the tip of his dick at Naruto's entrance.

"Fuck, you're so hot inside!" Sasuke cursed as he slowly inched his dick into Naruto.

"I'm not so easily broken," Naruto rutted back against Sasuke, taking the entirety of Sasuke's length inside of him, "Fuck me so hard that this burning heat leaves me!"

Sasuke groaned. The heat of Naruto's rectum hurt him to the point of burning but he didn't care. He pulled out of Naruto and then harshly thrusted back in. "I'll fuck you until you get pregnant." Sasuke hissed as he delivered another violent thrust into Naruto.

"Yes!" Naruto cried, precum dribbled out of the tip of his red cock, his eyes were shut closed due to the complete pleasure his alpha was giving him. "Give it to me!"

* * *

The royal party guests had respectfully went back to the dining hall when they realized what was happening behind the thin fabric wall of the curtain. It was considered highly disrespectful to stray close by when their king was coupling with his submissive so they had wisely chosen to leave. Only two brave people stood behind. One was Sakura who was seated in an empty seat in the front row and the other was Konan who was standing dutifully to the side of the curtain awaiting for her master to finish.

Sakura twisted her hands together in anger. The unmistakable scent of arousal and sex was permeating the air. The smell was coming from behind the velvet curtain that Sasuke had gone behind twenty minutes ago. Sakura couldn't stand it, she knew exactly what was happening behind the curtain, Sasuke-kun was congratulating that blond idiot by fucking him. The dance wasn't even that great! Sakura thought bitterly. Naruto didn't deserve to have the standing ovation that he did, it was her who should've been basking in the Uchiha clan's praises. She was the original royal submissive of the Uchiha clan not Naruto!

"Stupid slut!" Sakura hissed to herself. She forced herself to take a calming deep breath; she was getting too riled up just thinking of the blond slut. Naruto wasn't pregnant yet which meant there was still time to get Sasuke back. Sakura just had to figure out how to do it.

Sakura glared at the purple haired handmaiden. Konan. She would have to find a way to get around her; with that yellow-eyed freak always around Naruto it'd be hard for Sakura to do anything to him.

"Shouldn't you be cleaning up after the royals?" Konan drawled boredly. Her eyes held little interest for the shamed princess. "Didn't Sasuke-sama assign appoint you maid duties? You should be cleaning. Or perhaps..." Konan smiled widely, her white teeth gleamed menacingly in the muted light of the room, "are you here just to hear the moans slip from my masters lips every time your ex-husband thrusts into him?"

"Shut up!" Sakura hissed.

"Why? I'm right aren't I?" Konan laughed as she hopped down from the stage. "You're a masochistic omega aren't you? You like torturing yourself with things you can't have or ever hope to hear again-like your ex-husbands pleasure filled voice when he's lost in ecstasy?"

Sakura stood up and hurled her fist at Konan's face. Konan easily countered the ex-princess by pulling out her kunai and pressing it against Sakura's stomach. Sakura stopped when she felt the sharp point of the kunai pressing against her belly.

"One more move and I'll cut your womb right out, you may have shameful short hair and have lost your royal title but absolutely no one will ever want an omega who can't birth babies. Not even a commoner would want you."

"No." Sakura stepped back and wrapped her arms around her stomach, "don't you ever threaten me like that again!" Sakura screamed. Tears began to fall from her eyes. "I will have my baby and Sasuke will be the father and everything will go back to how it was before that bitch gave me that poisoned drink and that slut took my Sasuke-kun away from me! I won't let you cut it out!"

"Oh, so that's what's been going on," Konan smiled in realization, "I've seen the dark glares you've been giving lady Mikoto these days. I thought it was because she loved my master more than she ever loved you-but now I see. I would've never guessed that the reason for your hatred for her was because she was the one who killed your baby."

Sakura's face paled. Her green eyes filled with tears. "Don't speak of that woman's treachery out loud!"

"It's befitting that a spoiled rotten princess like you would have her first child poisoned, Kaguya punishes those who take her gratitude for granted, even someone like you should know that. Lady Mikoto was just doing Kaguya's work, you shouldn't hold any hatred for her."

"I will have all that Mikoto so cruelly took away from me again!" Sakura bellowed, "I will do everything in my power to make sure that Naruto doesn't give birth to Sasuke's son! That was my destiny way before his! He should've left the day Itachi could no longer be his dominant but no, instead he dared to take mine!" Sakura clutched her stomach, her son had once been there, he was killed before he could ever claim his king title. She'd never let Naruto have what was so cruelly taken away from her.

"Us omegas have a certain ability to know long before an alpha when another omega is pregnant so I'm sure you've noticed it by now...my masters scent has changed, it's sweeter. He's-"

"Don't your dare say it, bitch!" Sakura screamed.

"Pregnant." Konan finished. She smiled again. "Even if my sense of smell is wrong and my master isn't actually pregnant I'm sure that after tonight he will undoubtedly fall pregnant."

"I'll kill him before that can happen!" Sakura screeched.

"I should tell my master all of this, I should also tell Sasuke-sama that you're plotting to murder his omega but...your lunacy is hilarious. You're like a crying pig wailing in the dead of night, you couldn't even land a blow on me! My master may look delicate but he is much more stronger than you think, you won't be able to lay a single finger on him. You should just give up now, any day now my master will fall pregnant and you will stay the same. A shamed princess who now no longer has a clan to call her own."

"I will be the one who gets pregnant with Sasuke-kun's baby, not your slut of a master!"

"How does it feel to live in a delusional world?" Konan laughed she found the crazed omega pitiable, "you have the title of a maid and you think you will have the honor of ever birthing a royal baby? You're no longer the omega you used to be; you're nothing now, let go of your silly dreams. My master didn't take anything from you; he was born to be the ruler of a powerful clan, marrying a king was his birthright, if anything you were the one who impeded on his destiny. Your son died because Kaguya willed it, it was your own fault and you know it-" Konan gurgled out a gasp of breath as she fell to the floor. Her amber eyes stared in shock at Sakura's glowing green hand.

"W-what did you just do to me?" Konan gasped as blood gushed out from her throat. She writhed on the floor and clutched her bloody neck in agony. "When did you-"

"You were so busy spouting nonsense you didn't even notice when I sliced your throat in half you stupid bitch." Sakura crouched down and smiled down at Konan. "You were so enraptured with my supposed ranting that you forgot to keep your guard up, its a tad bit disappointing that you were this easy to get rid of, If I had known it'd be this easy I would've killed you much earlier." Sakura fingered the deep cut across Konan's once spotless neck. "I'd love to watch you bleed out until you take your final breath but the smell of your commoner blood is nauseating it makes me want to vomit. And besides I can't risk lingering around, someone might come and try to actually save your pathetic life."

"Y-you bitch-you'll pay." Konan gurgled out.

Sakura adopted a fake sad expression, "oh, but I already have, Kaguya has taken everything from me, there's nothing else she can do to me. But you-you had everything to lose and I've taken it all from you, pretty soon your beloved master will meet a fate similar to yours."

"Don't you dare touch him!" Konan's trembling hands reached for her kunai, she managed to draw it out but as soon as she did her arm weakened and the kunai clambered to the ground.

"Who's going to stop me, you? Oh that's right you won't be able to on the account that you'll be dead." Sakura stood up. "Send my regards to our beloved mother Kaguya when you meet her." And with that Sakura sauntered away. Her hands held her stomach. She had dramatized her ranting for Konan but all that she had said was true. She would have Sasuke's baby inside her once again and no one would stop her this time.

* * *

"You did good tonight." Sasuke sighed. He had just come inside Naruto for the third time that night. Naruto's body had finally begun to cool down a little. He was still hot but now he was no longer suffering from the scorching heat.

"Really?" Naruto whimpered as Sasuke gently pulled out of him. "I was scared that you would hate it." Naruto admitted weakly. "I wanted to show you a dance you'd never forget."

"How could I ever hate it? You made me proud to be your dominant, you were beautiful, I'll definitely never forget it. Every move you made enchanted me, how did you do it?"

Naruto blushed at his dominants heavy praising. "It's easy to control fire when you can control wind like I can. After you merged your fire ball into my rasengan that time against Karin it's become even easier to control it."

"Ah, so that's how you were able to kiss the fire without burning your lips," Sasuke chuckled, he glided his hand down Naruto's still half hard cock and rubbed further underneath where he knew Naruto's entrance to be. Naruto whined. The sound was music to Sasuke's ears. "Such a sensitive thing aren't you? No matter how many times I touch you here, you still act like a virgin." Sasuke smirked as he prodded his finger into the sensitive opening, his finger made a squelching noise because of all the come inside of Naruto, "all those men worshipping you has made me want to dominate you." Sasuke growled as he grabbed Naruto's chin and pulled him into a searing kiss.

"Well then dominate me, I'm all yours." Naruto murmured against Sasuke's lips as he caught his breath. He kissed Sasuke again; he savored how soft Sasuke's lips felt against his own. They were everything he ever wanted. It was like Sasuke's lips had been made special just for him.

"You've completely captivated me. No matter how many times I have you I always want to be inside you, I want to fill you to the brim with my seed again and again," Sasuke wound his arms around Naruto's bare stomach, "I want to see you swollen with my child inside you."

The look in Sasuke's eyes stole Naruto's breath away. There was fire in them, and he could feel the heat of it scald his skin. Not even the burning fire of his heat made him feel as hot as Sasuke's gaze.

"Then do it." Naruto opened his legs and guided Sasuke's dick back inside him, "I want to make all your fantasies a reality, my king. Come inside me until I become pregnant with your son for I am the only one now who can give you one."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Years guys!!!! Happy 2018 I hope this year is wonderful for all of you kind readers <3  
> Thank you for all the feedback on the previous chapter! It makes me sad that receiving comments on here is not part of the norm. Feedback truly does help an author so if you read a story on here and like it even a little bit please leave that story a nice comment! Just to clarify yes Naruto's dancing scene is inspired by the iconic dance from the movie Memoirs of a Geisha xD


	8. The Bloody Mist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Character bashing, mpreg, violence,...the usual.  
> Reminder: Italics in this fanfic symbolize the language of the west.

"She's been my handmaiden since the day I turned five, she was born to be mine and always at my side. She was like the sister I always wanted. The sister that Karin never was...I'll never forgive the person who did this." Naruto cried. He kneeled down and placed a single paper flower on Konan's tombstone. It was the same as the one she had used to wear in her purple hair.

"I know, love. I won't let this treachery go unpunished, Konan was your handmaiden, I'll be treating this as an attempt on your life." Sasuke bent down and placed a paper butterfly on the tombstone. For the short time that Sasuke had known Konan his relationship with her had been rocky. She never let her guard down around him and she would occasionally try his patience, it was something he allowed her to get away with because of how much Naruto loved her.

"I promise I'll find out who did this." Sasuke embraced Naruto and wiped the tears underneath his eyes, "I swear it. I'll kill them for you with my own two hands."

Naruto stared solemnly at the simple tombstone. His tears came out in endless rivulets, blurring his vision. He took one long last look at Konan's grave and then stood up. "That won't be necessary, I'll be the one to avenge Konan. I'll kill the culprit myself. It'll be my first official act as an Uchiha sovereign."

Something changed in Naruto that day. He had been on the cusp of change ever since the party but now it was fully realized. The people of fire country expected submissives to be docile and weak but Naruto would show them all that he wasn't a typical submissive, he was an omega who wouldn't be messed with. He'd avenge Konan with his own hands.

* * *

Naruto stared at the glowing fire dancing around in the hearth. The fires heat was hot enough to prickle his skin red but did nothing to warm the coldness in his heart. He was sitting in the same room where he had proposed his plan to throw a party to Mikoto, the same party that would later become the setting for Konan's death. He felt guilty. He couldn't help but think that if he had never thrown the party then Konan would still be alive.

"I'm so sorry." Mikoto said for the tenth time that day. No one else could believe it. Konan had been murdered. "She was such a capable guard I didn't think she'd die like this."

Konan's body had been found lifeless and drained of blood. It was said that her hand was reaching for her kunai as if in her last moments of consciousness she was trying desperately to kill her killer. Naruto had requested for her kunai to be brought to him, he'd keep it in memory of her.

Naruto allowed his mother-in-law to hug him. All he could do was allow this sadness to settle. Konan was dead and no matter what he did or said she'd never comeback. The only thing that would appease him would be killing Konan's murderer but it was hard. No one had seen anything and whoever had killed her had used a jutsu so that there was no evidence left behind. It was frustrating, all Naruto wanted was to avenge her but he couldn't if there were no suspects.

"It's such a shame Konan died, but I can't say I'm surprised," Sakura's nauseating voice greeted Naruto's ears. She flitted in through the sliding door as if she were still a princess and not a maid. "Well I suppose this shows that submissives really should stay in their places. She should've listened~"

Naruto didn't even spare her a glance. He snapped his fingers at a butler. "Escort her to her sleeping chambers. Make sure she doesn't leave for the entire day. It seems miss Haruno forgets that she's a maid."

"Oh, his highness can make orders like a real sovereign now?" Sakura laughed humorlessly as two butlers held her arms and began to pull her out of the room.

"Don't pay her any mind." Mikoto advised Naruto. She motioned with her finger to Sakura to shut her mouth.

"Konan's death must've been good for you. Without her here to do everything for you you've actually begun behave like a real ruler." Sakura chortled as she completely ignored Mikoto's urgent hand signs to stop talking.

"Sakura!" Mikoto screamed, "have some respect, you live in Uchiha territory so Naruto is your sovereign! You may have been a queen but that doesn't permit you to do and say as you please. Don't forget that you're here only because I've asked my son on your behalf."

"Do you expect me to be grateful to you? I'm only in this situation because of what you did to me, you bitch!"

The butlers holding onto Sakura simultaneously looked down at her. They couldn't believe what the ex-princess had just said.

"You-"

"Mother, it's fine." Naruto turned and finally set his eyes on Sakura. Even in her simple maid yukata she looked like royalty.

Naruto slowly walked up to Sakura. He kept his eyes on hers. She glared right back. He didn't know what Mikoto and Sakura were referring to but he didn't care right now. Something else was bothering him.

"Your maid, she was found with her neck slashed just like Konan's was she not?"

"Yes, what about it. Are you insinuating I killed Konan, your highness?" Sakura said mockingly.

"Answer me. Did you kill my handmaiden?" Naruto hissed. He could already feel the surge of pressure swell underneath his hand the way it did when he tried to form a rasengan.

Sakura laughed, a hollow sound in the tense room. "My maid was a simple submissive whose only duty was to fetch me things whenever I damn well pleased. It was easy to kill her. I used a knife. My clan isn't like yours; we do things the correct way. Submissives don't learn things like jutsus. So even if I wanted to kill Konan I wouldn't be able to. Does that answer your question, or perhaps you'll only be satisfied if I confess to her murder, your highness?"

Naruto's restraint snapped. The way Sakura had said it, he could tell she didn't care not one ounce that Konan was gone. He commanded the required energy to form a rasengan to the palm of his hand but no matter how hard he tried the rasengan wouldn't form. He suddenly felt dizzy and like he couldn't get enough air to his lungs no matter how deep he inhaled. Sakura smiled as Naruto fell to the ground. Mikoto and a maid rushed to his side and helped him stand.

"Naruto, are you okay?!" Mikoto caressed Naruto's cheek. His eyes were blearily staring back at her.

"Looks like being a sovereign is too much work for him. Maybe Sasuke-kun should get a better submissive."

"Get her out of here!" Mikoto yelled at the butlers. They bowed and resumed dragging the shamed ex-princess out of the room.

"Mikoto-san I feel sick." Naruto murmured. His face was pale and a shiny sheen of sweat covered his forehead.

"Someone send a messenger to the doctors!" Mikoto cried. A maid nodded and ran out of the room as if her life depended on it.

"Where's my son?" Mikoto questioned aloud. She cradled Naruto's head in her lap. His blue eyes were glassed over and slowly drifting close.

"He went to a council meeting with Fugaku-sama!" The only maid left in the room answered nervously.

"Go get him," Mikoto's hands were trembling as she touched the soft fabric over Naruto's belly. She could feel the steady energy rising from it. "If this is what I think it is my son needs to be here!"

* * *

Sasuke's legs couldn't move fast enough. The second the carriage pulled up to the palace he ran out and stormed through. He threw the door open to the room the maids directed him to, the room which housed his love. The sight of Naruto lying in bed with two doctors hovering over him made Sasuke's heart clench.

"What happened to him! Who did this?"

"Be calm, Uchiha-sama." One of the doctors took off his mask. His hair was white and tied into a low ponytail. His spectacles hung low on the bridge of his nose.

"Who are you, where is my mother?" Sasuke looked around. No one but the two doctors were in the bedroom. "Who allowed you to be alone with my submissive!"

"Uchiha-sama you should listen to my assistant. You should calm down." The other doctor finally took off his mask as well. Sasuke was immediately put off by the mans off putting smile. His lips dragged up at the end in a snakelike manner. His hair was long and black and his skin appeared pale green.

"My name is Orochimaru, and this is my assistant Kabuto. I am the Uchiha family's primary doctor. Your mother allowed us to be with Naruto-san alone. We asked her to leave because of the delicate situation."

"Orochimaru?" Sasuke tried to recall if he had ever heard the name before. "How could you be my families doctor if I've never seen you, explain yourself before I lose my patience!"

"Of course you haven't seen me, the last time I was here was when I pulled you out of Lady Mikoto fifteen years ago." Orochimaru made a sound that sounded like air being squeezed out of a sac. Was it supposed to be a laugh? Sasuke couldn't tell. "I'm the Uchiha obstetrician. I specialize in pregnancy, which brings me back to the topic at hand. A sacred life is growing inside your submissive right now. Naruto-san is pregnant."

"Pregnant?" Sasuke repeated the word in disbelief. He dropped to his knees.

"Yes, three weeks to be exact. It seems you impregnated him the night of your wedding since it was exactly three weeks ago."

Sasuke's heart hammered in his chest. He couldn't contain his happiness. Naruto was really pregnant. His love was going to bear him a child. Sasuke instinctually touched his forehead to the cold surface of the ground. Years ago, when Naruto had first come to the Uchiha clan Sasuke had seen his brother bow exactly like this to Naruto. Naruto had been ten back then and had belonged to Itachi but now Naruto was his and carrying his child. He could still remember Gaara explaining to him that this bow represented the ultimate sign of respect to the submissive that carried your child. Sasuke stayed in the bow for a minute. He sent a prayer up to Kaguya for giving him this blessing.

"You're a lucky man, Uchiha-sama." Kabuto jested after a long minute had passed.

"Yes, incredibly lucky. Naruto is unlike any submissive I've ever examined before." Orochimaru seconded. "That tattoo on his stomach seems to be a seal with the intended purpose of aiding Naruto-san during his pregnancy. It's filled to the brim with stored chakra but it appears it's only sharing the chakra with the fetus and not Naruto-san."

"Get out." Sasuke ordered the two doctors. They were speaking to him but he couldn't pay attention to a thing they said. How could he when he had just been given the happiest news of his life? He stared at Naruto as he got up. His loves eyes were closed, he was covered up to his waist and his little hands were cradling his stomach. Even as he slept he was unconsciously protecting their child.

"As you wish Uchiha-sama. We'll be right outside discussing the situation with your father." The two doctors bowed and then left.

Sasuke looked down lovingly at his mate. He ran his hand through Naruto's hair and then touched the soft skin of Naruto's lips.

"My pretty little sovereign." Sasuke cooed.

"Yes?" Naruto murmured. His blue eyes fluttered open. He pursed his lips so that he could kiss Sasuke's finger. Naruto's voice was thick with sleep, it was adorable to Sasuke.

"You're carrying my child, I'm so happy."

"I am?!" Naruto clambered up but Sasuke gently pushed him back down. "Yes, you are. Be careful, don't make such sudden movements."

"I'm pregnant?" Naruto's eyes began to flow over with tears. The last thing he remembered was trying to form a rasengan to attack Sakura and then losing consciousness. He never expected to wake up to this glorious news. He grabbed Sasuke's cheeks and pulled his mate down into a kiss. "Thank you." Naruto cried. He kissed Sasuke again and again until he calmed down.

Naruto rubbed his flat stomach. He was eternally grateful to Sasuke. Kaguya takes and gives. She had taken Konan but in return she had given Naruto a new life…something even more precious, something that was all his.

Sasuke's child.

* * *

Sakura hummed to herself the way she always did when she was alone. She glided down the palace halls, aimless, without a real destination. She was only doing this because she wasn't supposed to. She had been sent to confinement in her room but that didn't matter. She'd never allow that husband stealer to tell her what to do. He could've been the damn emperor and she still wouldn't have listened.

Sakura came to a stop at one of the large portraits hanging in the hall. It was a portrait of Sasuke when he had just gained his half moon mark. He was beautiful back then too, royal features, an angular jaw, and deep obsidian eyes. Sakura gently touched the gold frame around the painting, if she had her son would he have looked like this?

Sakura continued walking, she was getting angry thinking about her unborn child. Sasuke would've definitely loved her if she birthed a son that looked exactly like him. She gasped when she saw the new painting hanging at the end of the hall. She ran to it and touched it frantically to check if it were real.

A month ago a painting of Sasuke and herself had been hanging here but now a newly painted painting of Naruto and Sasuke had replaced it. In the painting Sasuke was seated on a throne and Naruto was standing dutifully beside him. Naruto's hand was resting on Sasuke's shoulder and his wedding ring was on clear display. He was dressed in a royal red kimono while Sasuke was dressed in all black. The painter had made sure to add extra red pigment to the dots on Naruto's forehead for added effect. Sakura wanted to scream. She wasn't angry that they had replaced her portrait so fast she was angry at how Sasuke looked in the painting. In their own painting Sasuke had looked so grim, and unhappy. Sakura had believed that that was just how Sasuke always was but no-the only person it seemed who could make Sasuke smile was that blond idiot.

Suddenly a maid carrying a mountain of pillows came barreling down the hallway. She was sweaty, the sound of her small feet pitting against the floor caught Sakura's attention.

"Excuse me!" The maid called as she skittered around a butler.

Sakura recognized the maid. She was the maid that was always eager to help Naruto. She could remember Naruto annoyingly referring to the maid as Rin.

"Oh, Sakura-san!" Rin greeted when she noticed Sakura's presence. She attempted to bow out of habit but couldn't because of all the pillows in her arms. "What are you doing out of your sleeping chambers? If someone sees you you can get in trouble!"

"That old bat doesn't control me."

"I'm not talking about Mikoto-san! I'm talking about sasuke-sama, he heard about what happened earlier. How you provoked naruto and how he fainted! He's furious!"

"He is?" Sakura laughed. "Good maybe now he'll come visit me. He's been ignoring me this whole time as if I don't exist. He's forgotten that I was once special enough to him that he entrusted me with his child inside me."

"Sakura-san!" Rin huffed. She quickly glanced around nervously to see if anyone had heard. She sighed when she saw they were alone. "From now on be careful what you say. If you value your life I'd stay out of sight for the next couple of days. Sasuke-sama is very angry with you. You endangered Naruto-sama's life which Sasuke-sama won't forgive since Naruto-sama is _pregnant_."

Sakura's reaction was instantaneous. She screamed. It was a primal yell, full on unbridled fury. Rin dropped her bundle of pillows and ran away from the terrifying ex-princess as fast as she could. Sakura was hyperventilating; the air couldn't get into her lungs fast enough. She ignited her hand in a green light and slashed at the palace walls.

"I'll kill him!" Sakura wailed. She slashed the painting on the wall until Naruto's face was unrecognizable.

She was going to get Naruto back and she knew the perfect way to do it. Sasuke wasn't the only dominant in Fire Country who coveted Naruto; it was about time the blond realized that. It'd take time for her plan to come to fruition but the results would be more than worth it.

* * *

**One month later**

All of Fire Country now knew of the Uchiha sovereign's pregnancy. Royals from all over Fire Country had sent gifts to Naruto and Sasuke. Even royals from Whirlpool had sent elaborate presents, it was like they were all trying to out do each other in a bid of who could send the Uchiha royal couple the most expensive present. Even the emperor of Whirlpool had sent Naruto a golden, sapphire encrusted, pacifier that had the whirlpool insignia on it. When the emperor of fire country had learned this news he had in turn sent Naruto a golden pacifier, encrusted in brilliant glittering red rubies, that had the Fire Country insignia on it. This only made everyone else want to join in on the present giving. It was a time of celebration, the Uchiha clan rejoiced in the news that their sovereign would be giving their clan an heir. It seemed everyone was excited for the news that was except for Naruto's parents. After Konan's assassination they had wanted Naruto to go back to the Uzumaki clan immediately but of course that was impossible since Naruto no longer belonged to the Uzumaki clan. They didn't want Naruto or their unborn grandchild to be there with a killer on the loose but they had no choice. The only way Naruto could appease his parents was by allowing them to pick out a new handmaiden for him. Of course it was to be a handmaiden with Uzumaki blood flowing through their veins. This decision had happened a month ago and now today was the fated day that Naruto's new handmaiden was to arrive. He didn't know who they were; all he knew was that they'd be here today.

Naruto readied himself in the vanity mirror. He felt excited, the thought of having someone from home, another person other than Sasuke who knew his language, a person who knew all of the intricacies of his culture, a person who could possibly fill the place that had been left by Konan-excited him.

Rin helped him dress into a heavy red winter kimono. Soon his handmaiden would be the one helping him do this. Naruto smiled at the thought. Rin draped a black wolf pelt over his shoulders and then styled his hair into a braided bun and stuck a chain of dangling rubies in it.

"You look beautiful, I always love to see you in our clans colors." Sasuke said from the doorway.

Naruto turned around and flashed a big cheesy grin at his mate.

"Today's a special day. My new handmaiden is coming, Sasuke!" Naruto all but squealed. He stood up and ran so that he could smoother Sasuke's face with kisses.

"I suppose I should be thankful that your parents sent you a new one, it's allowed me to be graced with this lovely greeting." Sasuke encircled his arms around Naruto's waist and kissed Naruto hungrily back.

"I'm so excited I'm going to go outside and wait for them! I want to be there the second they arrive!"

"Absolutely not."

"Why not?" Naruto was genuinely confused by Sasuke's firm rejection of his plan.

"You're pregnant and that killer is still on the loose. You can't use any jutsus while you're like this, I can't take that risk."

"That isn't fair!" Naruto pouted. "I'm pregnant not incapable of performing basic acts, Sasuke. I can defend myself just fine. I'm not that weak you of all people should know that!"

"If I may be so bold to say that Naruto-sama has been cooped up in the palace for the last month. His new handmaiden has made the long journey all the way from Whirlpool just to attend to Naruto-sama, please consider letting him go outside to wait, Uchiha-sama." Rin said nervously. She wrung her hands together and stared down at her feet in fear that the Uchiha king would lash out at her for speaking out of place.

The tell tale signs of anger began to filter across Sasuke's face but then they abruptly dissipated.

"Fine." Sasuke reluctantly gave in. "But I'm going with you,"

Naruto tiptoed and kissed Sasuke's cheek.

"Thank you, I knew you'd give in!"

* * *

Naruto giddily watched the icy road in front of the palace. Any second now a carriage carrying his new handmaiden would come rolling down the snowy pathway.

Sasuke held onto Naruto's hand. He felt like if he let go Naruto would run down the ice-covered road until he reached the carriage.

"Look, Sasuke, there it is!" Naruto jumped up and down and pointed at the carriage with a flag of the Uzumaki clan crest on it.

"Careful, love. You might get sick if you continue to jump like that. We don't want another episode of what happened yesterday morning to happen again."

Naruto blushed and immediately stopped. The vivid memory of the bout of morning sickness he had suffered through all yesterday morning surfaced to his mind.

"Sorry I'm just really happy right now." Naruto confessed. "The thought of someone like Konan being by my side again is exciting."

Sasuke chuckled. "I know."

The carriage came to a stop in front of Naruto and Sasuke. The driver hopped down, bowed to the Uchiha king and the sovereign and then opened the carriage door.

 _"Naruto-nii!"_ A blond came running out of the carriage. He enveloped Naruto in a vice tight grip, separating Naruto from Sasuke's hold. The blond was a whole head taller than Naruto and also a bit more muscular. His blond hair was also a shade darker, almost the same color of a sunflower in the height of spring. The blond wasn't wearing a traditional kimono; instead he wore a long sleeved blue yukata and tight fitting training pants. The Uzumaki clan crest was emblazoned in bright blue stitching on the back of his yukata. From his appearance it was easy to see that he was obviously a submissive but the sun mark on the inside of his palm was clear definite evidence that he was in fact a submissive. He could've easily been mistaken for Naruto's older brother.

 _"Dei-kun! It's so good to see you! I can't believe mother sent you to become my new handmaiden?"_ Naruto was in tears now, hugging the blond as if he were his whole world. Sasuke was admittedly jealous but he'd let it slide seeing as the blond was a mere submissive. _"But you're not a handmaiden, you're a royal? Why are you here?"_

 _"I know I'm not but aunt Kushina asked me personally to come watch over you. Konan's murder has riled her up greatly. She wanted to come watch over you herself but uncle Minato wouldn't let her, he needs her help to train Karin for the throne."_ Deidara narrowed his deep blue eyes at Sasuke, _"Kushina-san knows I can protect you from anything or anyone."_

Sasuke stiffened. Was this submissive insinuating that he would harm Naruto? Sasuke wanted to laugh, was it predestined that every submissive from Whirlpool other than Naruto hate him?

Deidara took a step back and took in Naruto's appearance. _"Your kimono looks so northern, you look like one of the people from those paintings Grandma Mito used to have hanging in her tea room."_

 _"The one with the geishas in the snow?"_ Naruto giggled. A series of quips were exchanged between Naruto and his cousin. Their bond was obviously close; it was the type of bond that could only be shared by two people who had grown up together. Sasuke envied it; his bond with his own cousin was nowhere near this level of closeness. The only thing he and Gaara shared in common was probably their familiar bloodline.

 _"You look so different, you look older somehow and your scent, it's so mature! I can smell your alpha on you."_ Deidara exclaimed, _"I can't believe that my sweet little Naruto-nii got himself an alpha and is now pregnant."_ Deidara caressed Naruto's stomach, _"and you even did it all before me!"_

Naruto's face burned bright red. Deidara was older than him by six years. He had always been more mature but now Naruto had beaten him to a major milestone. It was an odd feeling to say the least.

_"I can imagine how heartbroken Nagato-san would be if he got a look at you now. He'd probably cry an entire river. He was so in love with you and now you're pregnant with another alphas child!"_

Naruto quickly put his finger to his lips to signal Deidara to shut up. Deidara's eyes widened when he realized what had just happened.

 _"He understood what I just said, huh?"_ Deidara gasped. He bowed quickly "Please forgive me! I didn't know you understood our language! I'll speak your language from now on, I've been studying it for the last month!" Deidara tried to explain but it was obvious that Sasuke wasn't listening. He was breathing hard and his eyes had turned a strange red color.

Naruto latched onto Sasuke's arms in an attempt to calm his mate down.

"Who's Nagato?" Sasuke growled.

"No one important!"

"Are you kidding me? Not important? He was this royal alpha who was completely obsessed with Naruto-nii! It was weird because he's our cousin but you know how it is-you can't help who you fall in love wi-"

"Dei! Shut up already!" Naruto screamed. Sasuke's fingertips were each ignited with a little flame. His body was ready to battle. Naruto grabbed Sasuke's face in his hands. He forced Sasuke's face down to his and stared into Sasuke's red eyes.

"Don't get angry, you already know you're the only alpha I want." Naruto pressed a kiss to Sasuke's lips, "you're the only alpha whose seed I'd ever let enter me. I would never let another alpha have me since I am already yours." The words were like a magic spell, Sasuke instantly calmed down. His fire-tinged fingertips went back to normal and his red eyes bleed back to black.

"I can't believe this!" Deidara's entire face was red, "you really are grown up! Only an adult would be able to handle an alpha like that, you're no longer my little baby bird. God, auntie Kushina would lose her mind if she heard what you just said to your mate! Or even worse I think uncle Minato would literally implode to hear his baby princess say such things!"

"Okay I've had enough of this." Sasuke scowled. "How is a mere submissive supposed to protect my mate? Konan was a submissive and she ended up dead what's one more submissive supposed to do?"

Deidara grinned. A big and flashy smile that immediately irritated Sasuke.

"I'm quite confident in my skills, Uchiha-san." Deidara opened his palm and a white bird made of what looked like clay appeared.

"So, you're going to protect Naruto with a clay bird? Are you trying to insult me even more?"

Deidara laughed madly, his deep blue eyes opened wide. He looked like a raving mad lunatic. "This isn't an ordinary clay bird!" Deidara shouted.

"Oh, no." Naruto muttered underneath his breath. He blocked Sasuke with his body from Deidara and then covered his ears.

"This isn't just a bird! It's art incarnate! It bends and snaps to my every littlest whim! I create it and then-"

A blast went off in Deidara's hand. Sasuke instinctually wrapped his arms around Naruto and faced him away from the bomb.

"I destroy it!" Deidara finished. In his hand were the weathered clay remnants of the clay bird. "And that wasn't even a strong one! I'll protect my cousin with these little bombs I call masterpieces! So don't doubt my abilities! Auntie Kushina sent me here because she knew I'd be able to keep my cousin safe, I'm the strongest omega in the entire royal family, hnn!"

"It's true. When Deidara was twelve he protected me from a group of alphas who had wanted to defile me just so they could see what sleeping with the son of a king was like."

"Oh yeah I remember that! I stuffed one of my bombs down one of their throats!" Deidara laughed, "poor Naruto-nii, the disgusting bastard exploded all over and got Naruto's pretty yellow kimono all dirty!"

Sasuke frowned; he could already tell that he and Deidara weren't going to get along. He'd just have to find a way to put up with it though because Deidara was indeed strong and that was the type of guard he needed protecting Naruto.

"Okay, fine I'll entrust Naruto into your care when I'm not able to be with him."

Deidara rolled his eyes. "Obviously. Who else would you entrust my precious cousin to?" Deidara pinched Naruto's pink cheeks, "only I could do such a job!"

"I'm so excited Dei! Let's go I'll show you all around the palace, you're going to love it here!" Naruto pulled Deidara's hand.

"Okay, try and keep up with us, Uchiha-san!" Deidara teased as he and Naruto began the trek up the snowy pathway to the palace.

Sasuke sighed and followed behind. He was just happy that his love was happy.

* * *

"This is my bedroom, I only sleep in here during the days when Sasuke is away and I need to rest for a little, the sleeping chambers I share with Sasuke is right down the hall." Naruto kept walking, right pass his old room and continued down the hall. He was giving Deidara a tour of the entire palace; Sasuke had had to go take care of some things with his father so it was jut Naruto and his cousin walking around now.

"Down there is one of Sasuke's study rooms, although to be honest I've never seen him inside of it-"

"Hey what's in that room?" Deidara pointed to a large wooden door at the end of the hall. There were two masked man standing at each side of the door.

Naruto's eyes shone as he looked at the door. "That room is my favorite room in the entire house." Naruto smiled.

"Why?" Deidara observed the closed door curiously.

"Come, I'll show you." Naruto took Deidara's hand led him to the door.

The two guards bowed to their knee when Naruto arrived.

"Here to visit again? Our sovereign blesses us practically each day with his beautiful face, we are entirely humbled."

"Rise, it is I who is humbled by your continued service to keeping him safe."

The guards bowed again and then granted Naruto and Deidara access into the room.

The sweet smell of burning incense immediately assaulted Deidara's senses. Through the billowy smoke he could see a large bed in the center of the room. There were black sheer shawls canopied over the bed, through the semi-transparent material of the shawl Deidara could see the silhouette of a man with his head propped against a mountain of pillows and his arms laying at his sides.

Deidara hesitantly followed behind Naruto until they reached the side of the bed.

"Who is that?" Deidara asked tensely. Now that they were closer Deidara could make out the man's features. His long black hair was tied into a low ponytail and hung on his shoulder. His skin was pale and his eyes were closed. He looked like a sleeping god; Deidara was instantly transfixed by the man's beauty.

"This is Itachi-san, my betrothed before Sasuke. He was defeated in a duel trying to fight for my honor."

"This is Itachi!" Deidara exclaimed. He knew the name but he had never actually seen the face the name belonged to.

"Yes. This is Sasuke's older brother."

Deidara gaped.

"How? They look nothing alike! Sasuke's all...and Itachi's so pretty!?"

Naruto giggled, "Sasuke wouldn't like it if he heard you say that."

Deidara grinned, "Sasuke-san probably won't like a lot of the things I have to say."

"Yeah, you have a special talent for getting on people's nerves." Naruto agreed happily. "Anyways it's almost time for dinner, let's get going."

Deidara nodded and trailed behind Naruto as they left the room. Before the doors shut he got one last look at the beautiful man lying on the bed.

 _Itachi-san._ Deidara smiled. Even the name was beautiful.

* * *

"So you're Naruto's cousin?" Mikoto asked later on at dinner.

"Yup." Deidara replied as he shoveled a piping hot spoonful of broth into his mouth.

"You're his cousin but you're also his handmaiden?" Mikoto was trying to make sense of it all.

"Yeah, my mother is Naruto's fathers sister. She married outside the clan so I'm technically not an Uzumaki in name but yeah, we're cousins."

"I see, well that's certainly interesting isn't it honey?" Mikoto nudged Fugaku's leg with her foot but Fugaku wasn't even listening to the conversation. He was deep in an important discussion with Sasuke.

Once again Fugaku and Sasuke had brought clan ordeals home with them. Naruto had been alternating between listening in on Sasuke and Fugaku's discussion and Mikoto and Deidara's discussion.

Sasuke looked so stressed it hurt Naruto to see his mate so exhausted.

As the new king of the Uchiha clan Sasuke had many new responsibilities. He had literally inherited all of Itachi's responsibilities. Growing up he had never been given lessons on how to run the clan, he had never had to learn the inner workings and set up of the clan, or learn about how to deal with foreign and internal affairs. Itachi had been the one to receive the lessons; it was his birthright to inherit the clans throne so from an early age Itachi had learned it all. But now Sasuke was trying to play catch up and learn everything at once. Naruto could tell that it tired Sasuke immensely.

"We need the Akimichi clans support if we want the emperor to go with the proposal we submitted. The river is on their clan territory."

"I know father I'll have the proposal written up by tomorrow morning."

"No, we need it before then. Have it ready by tonight. I want to send it by tomorrow morning."

"Understood."

"You also need to pay a visit to Inoichi. He plans to pick a dominant for his daughter and he wants the Uchiha clan to agree to the person he chooses. It's an honor so make sure you help him pick a capable dominant but not one who could challenge us in the future."

Sasuke nodded. There were bags underneath his beautiful black eyes. Naruto wanted to get up a kiss them.

"Oh and you also have to attend a lunch with the emperors son. He wants to discuss future projects concerning tax distribution throughout the clans."

The table occupants were now all paying attention to Sasuke and his fathers conversation. It was hard to ignore when Sasuke looked so uncharacteristically sullen.

"I guess being a king is hard work." Deidara muttered discreetly to Naruto. "Minato-san made it look easy."

Naruto couldn't take it anymore. His alpha looked ragged. He hadn't really noticed how much responsibility Sasuke now had. He was always coming home late but he'd always give Naruto the love affection that he craved. He was even nicer now since Naruto was pregnant. His poor mate had been suffering this entire past month.

Naruto got up and without giving it a second thought he plopped right into Sasuke's lap.

"What's all this?" Sasuke asked surprised. His tired eyes illuminated with mirth as he wrapped his arms around Naruto's stomach.

"I just wanted to sit with Sasuke." Naruto whispered. He leaned forward and done how he had wanted to do earlier and kissed the bags underneath his mates sleepy looking eyes. "After you're done writing that proposal I'll be waiting for you in our bedroom. You do so much; you don't have to stress on your own. I'll always be here for you."

"Thank you, love." Sasuke kissed Naruto's pouty pink lips. "You know exactly what to say to ease my mind."

Fugaku scowled at the open display of affection. He said nothing though; his son was stupidly in love with his submissive so he knew Sasuke would find nothing wrong with what Naruto had just done. His son was dumb but he'd allow it since Naruto would soon give him what he wanted. The child growing inside him would make up for all of the disgraceful habits Naruto had brought into the Uchiha clan.

The Uchiha family continued eating with Naruto snuggled right on Sasuke's lap. No one said anything except for Naruto who'd occasionally coo sweet nothings to his exhausted alpha.

* * *

For the past two months Sasuke had been baring the stress of all of the kingly duties he had inherited from becoming the new ruler of the Uchiha clan. One of the many new responsibilities Sasuke had inherited was maintaining the various relationships between all of the clans in fire country and the Uchiha clan. It was important to keep allies happy so that in the event that war broke out the Uchiha clan would have other clans to depend on. The Uchiha clan was strong on their own but having trustworthy allies to rely on just in case war broke out was important. Sasuke's father had stressed this numerous times. Which was why Sasuke was currently watching a duel between the Aburame clans heir, Shino, and the Sarutobi clans heir Konohamaru.

It was tiresome. Shino's ability to manipulate bugs to attack his opponent was disturbing and Konohamru was like a puppy, yapping about how strong he was but never actually attacking. They were both utterly pitiful. It was astounding that they could be considered heirs to any clan.

Being in the coliseum was also a bit hard for Sasuke. It still brought back bad memories. It was the last place he had seen Itachi conscious. Sasuke shut his eyes and tried to dissipate the vivid memory of Itachi after the duel. All the blood...the anger and fear in Itachi's eyes...the way he held his hands up to shield his face when Neji delivered the final blow...

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke's black eyes snapped open. His heart was racing. He looked down to the arena. Shino was controlling a large purple beetle to attack Konohamaru. Sasuke sighed. He didn't know why but he had thought that when looked to the arena, Itachi would be down there lying in a pool of blood.

"Sasuke?" Naruto' called again. His sweet voice soothed Sasuke's frayed nerves. "You've been acting weird all day, I'm worried."

"Don't be." Sasuke cooed. His submissive shouldn't have to worry about him. "It's just...hard being here."

"I'm sorry. I wish we didn't have to come today either." Naruto completely understood. It was hard being in the coliseum for him too. He couldn't imagine how hard it must've been for Sasuke who had loved his brother so dearly.

"It's easier being here with you by my side though." Sasuke confessed. He held Naruto's hand and kissed the back of it softly. It was true, when Naruto was beside him; dealing with the trauma of what had happened to his brother was easier to digest. It wasn't only with Itachi's loss; it was with everything else as well. All of the new responsibilities Sasuke had inherited, including having to attend this boring duel, was easier because Naruto's calming presence enabled him to get through it.

"I'm happy that I can at least do this much for you then." Naruto blushed. He wanted to kiss Sasuke's lips but he couldn't because they were in public.

"You do much more than just that, love," Sasuke could see the craving in Naruto's eyes. When Naruto wanted a kiss he'd unconsciously lick his lips. Sasuke found the odd habit precious. "Come here." Sasuke cupped Naruto's cheek and kissed him. He bit Naruto's lips softly and then pulled away.

An outburst of cheers and hoots erupted. A crowd of commoners who were intensely observing the royal Uchiha couple up in their high up boxed seating was yelling in cheer over the beautiful kiss. For many of them, it was like seeing two gods kiss.

Naruto's cheeks flared red. Sasuke smirked. The commoners were annoying but Naruto's reaction was the cutest thing he had seen all day.

"Look at the sky." Naruto said to change the romantically charged atmosphere. It'd be no good if he let his hormones get the better of him in such a public place. "It looks like it might rain."

The clouds in the sky were gray and swollen. They looked ready to burst.

"Oh really, you've never shown such interest in the weather." Sasuke smirked as he stole another kiss from Naruto. "Are you trying to stop me from kissing you?"

The crowd cheered when the Uchiha king kissed his beautiful sovereign again. They all shouted praises of joy; they knew how lucky they were to witness such a rare public display of affection between a king and his submissive. Naruto gave in and let his self be swept up with the flow. Sasuke's advances were irrefutable and he loved it. He languidly moved his lips back against Sasuke's, even when he heard the delicate sound of raindrops thumping against the arena ground Naruto didn't stop.

* * *

The duel finally ended an hour later. The day had turned cold and wet and Sasuke wanted nothing more than to go home and be at peace alone with Naruto. But one of the annoying things about being a king was that unlike the rest of the commoners who could leave right after the duel was done, he had to go personally congratulate the winner.

"It's an honor that you attended my duel, Sasuke-sama." Shino Aburame bowed. He was the heir to a low level clan; his short black hair and dull brown eyes were unimpressive, just like his clan.

"It's an even greater honor that you allowed Naruto-sama to attend as well." Shino bowed lowly to Naruto who was standing demurely beside Sasuke with his hands folded over his swollen stomach. The sweet scent of pregnancy that Naruto gave off was intoxicating. It made the hairs on the back of Shino's neck stand. "I've never seen a sovereign this up close before so I have to thank you for the opportunity, Uchiha-sama."

"Really? Then you should come by my palace sometime. You can get your fill of seeing my sovereign while we discuss business."

"Yes, of course! I'll tell my father, he'll be so elated!" Shino replied enthusiastically.

"I'm glad. Hopefully we can deepen the bond between our clans in the future." Sasuke forced a smile. He didn't know why his father made him attend this duel. He didn't understand how a weak clan like the Aburame clan could ever be an ally they could rely on. He understood the importance of having alliances but what were the Aburame clan going to do to aid them during a battle? Release a thousand bees and sting the enemy to death? Sasuke laughed. He could vividly imagine it.

"What's so funny, Sasuke-sama?" Shino questioned. Confused by the Uchiha kings sudden laughter.

"Nothing." Sasuke swallowed his mirth. "It was also an honor for me to attend your duel, I can now see why my father thinks so highly of your clan." Sasuke lied effortlessly. He had to bite the inside of his cheek to not laugh again.

"Thank you, when I become ruler of my clan in a years time I'll remember your kind words."

"In a years time? It's so soon, congratulations." It was Sasuke's duty to at least appear like he cared about Shino and his clan.

"I hope to be a king like you and find a submissive just like yours." Shino said sheepishly. His brown eyes glanced back nervously in Naruto's direction. Shino wanted to run his hands against the stiff fabric of Naruto's red obi and fell the swell of his stomach. A pregnant submissive, especially one as pretty as Naruto, was such a tempting sight he could hardly contain himself.

"Oh, just like Naruto?" Sasuke's chest swelled with pride. There were many dominants that wanted his submissive but none of them would ever have a taste. He wanted to laugh in Shino's face. He'd never find a submissive like Naruto. He'd end up with a low level, unimpressive submissive just like himself. If Shino were a higher ranking dominant Sasuke would've been angered by Shino's admiration for Naruto but since Shino was nothing Sasuke found Shino's admiration for Naruto amusing.

Shino nodded. "Yes, I want someone exactly like Naruto, with hair kissed by the sun and eyes as blue as the sky. Someone who can carry my child inside them and look beautiful while doing it." Shino was too embarrassed to look in Naruto's direction as he revealed his hidden desires. "Naruto is perfect in every single way."

"Yes he is, isn't he?" Neji entered the small-boxed seating room.

There was an unknown submissive holding tightly onto his arm. The submissive was small, like a child but the way he held himself was like someone who had lived many years. His eyes were light brown and his hair was black and fell to his waist. His kimono was a dark gray and on his white kimono collar there was a stitched on clan symbol that Sasuke had never seen before. It was four slanted lines. It reminded him of falling rain.

"There isn't a submissive in this world who can compare to Naruto." Neji admired Naruto openly. The brown eyes of the submissive attached to his arm narrowed. "Congratulations on getting Naruto pregnant by the way, he smells ravishing."

"Cut the shit what are you doing here, Hyūga?" Sasuke growled. He had to physically restrain himself to not attack Neji. Unlike Shino, Neji was a high status dominant, which meant Sasuke was greatly offended by his admiration for Naruto.

"I came to watch the duel, same as you, your royal highness." Neji replied sarcastically. "My betrothed was bored, he wanted some entertainment so I brought him here to see a duel. Is that a crime?"

"Betrothed?" Sasuke blurted out. Since when did Neji have a betrothed? He didn't care that Neji was getting married, what he cared about was what Neji getting married meant. Neji would no longer be the heir of the Hyūga clan; he'd become the ruler of it.

"Yes, my betrothed." Neji glared down at the submissive attached to him. "This is Haku of the bloody mist, he's the son of the emperor of Mist country."

An emperor's son? Sasuke wasn't jealous. Naruto's blood was just as pure as any emperor's offspring. What bothered him was that the Hyūga clan had seeked out a bride for Neji outside of Fire Country. It was suspicious.

"Haku of the bloody mist?" Shino asked. Amazement radiated across his bland features. "Its an honor to meet you, your brothers are legends!"

"Thank you, I'll be sure to tell Kisame and Suigetsu you said that." Haku smiled. It was an unnerving smile. Almost unnatural, like he hadn't had much experience in doing it.

"You're a lucky man, Neji-san," Shino looked between Haku and Naruto, his cheeks colored slightly, "I can only pray to Kaguya that she blesses me with a submissive of high quality like the both of you."

"Thank you, Shino-kun!" Naruto smiled cheerfully. "I'm sure she will."

"Thank you." Haku said simply. He looked boredly away from Shino as if Shino hadn't spoken at all. It was like Shino's compliment meant nothing to him.

"There are plenty of high quality submissives in Fire Country, I'm certain Kaguya will bless you with one of them!" Naruto added happily.

"Yes, there are many but none quite like you." Neji interjected. His eyes hadn't left Naruto's face since his arrival.

Haku glared. It was obvious that his betrothed fancied the blond haired submissive. He found it laughable. The blond looked weak, too soft to bear a strong heir. Whatever clan the blond was ruler of was probably a weak one and the child he'd birth would probably be just as weak as well. Was Fire Country full of only weaklings? Haku had been in Fire Country for only a month and had met only a handful of clan heirs so far but all of them had been pitiable. He hated Fire Country and he hated his betrothed.

"My betrothed actually just lied to you," Haku suddenly stated monotonously. "He didn't bring me here to entertain me, we're actually here to invite royal families to our wedding next week." Haku snapped his little fingers. A tall, bronze colored man with a large sword strapped to his back, stalked into the room.

"Zabuza, give me the bag of invitations."

Zabuza grunted. He handed the small submissive a white satin bag and then left the room.

Haku untied the bag and opened it. His brown eyes glanced up to Sasuke, "these invitations were all handwritten and addressed specifically to royal families by a calligrapher, what is your family name?" Haku asked impatiently, he wanted to get this over with and leave already.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha, king of the Uchiha clan." Sasuke replied proudly.

Haku's eyes doubled in size. _Uchiha._ Haku had heard of the clan before. He had thought the Uchiha clan was merely a legend. He didn't know that they actually existed. They were supposedly gifted with the powers of dragons. His grandmother had told him tales about how the Uchiha's could breath fire and drive a man to insanity with a single look into their eyes. Power was something Haku was attracted to. Dominants should be powerful. Unlike his betrothed, Sasuke's powerful aura was attracting.

"Uchiha?" Haku picked out the invitation and handed it to Sasuke. He "accidentally" let his fingers linger on the skin of Sasuke's palm. "I've heard many great things about your clan, Uchiha-sama."

"I'm pleased to know that an emperors son has heard of my clan." Sasuke smirked. It would've shocked him more if Haku hadn't heard of the Uchiha clan.

"I've been in Fire Country for four whole weeks and I thought I'd never meet a powerful clan who would be able to compete on my clans level-but you've proved me wrong."

Neji jerked his arm out of Haku's hold. "You dare insult me like this? Are you insinuating that my clan is weak or have you forgotten that my clan will become your clan in one week? Why don't you act like the submissive you're supposed to be, huh?!" Neji bellowed.

Haku didn't even flinch at the dominants verbal attack. He snapped his fingers and Zabuza came trudging back in.

"Escort me to the carriage, my betrothed is embarrassing me in front of the king of the Uchiha clan."

Sasuke chuckled at the submissives arrogant behavior. He liked it, Haku's attitude was befitting for someone as annoying as Neji.

"It was a privilege to meet you Sasuke-sama, I can't wait to see you again." Haku smiled that odd smile of his then walked out the room with Zabuza trailing behind him.

Neji looked furious. His hands were clenched tightly into fists. Sasuke loved it. He couldn't have picked out a more perfect submissive for Neji. The bastard deserved a submissive that didn't know how to properly submit or listen.

"I can't wait to see your beautiful wedding, Neji." Sasuke said mockingly. He waved the wedding invitation back and forth in Neji's face.

Neji scowled.

"This might be bad timing but...am I invited to your wedding too Neji-san?" Shino spoke up nervously.

Neji snapped his white eyes at the forgotten Aburame clan heir. "Do whatever you fucking want!"

"And you-" Neji pinned Sasuke with a menacing gaze. "You better not speak a word of what just happened to anyone."

"I don't answer to you," Sasuke laughed, "I hadn't even thought of telling anyone but now-" Sasuke feigned a shocked expression, "if someone were to ask me what Neji Hyūgas betrothed is like, I'm going to have no choice but to tell them aren't I?" Sasuke hitched up his last word to stress the false innocence in his voice.

"I'll kill you if you say anything!"

"You could never kill me, I've been dying to murder you ever since you cheated in the duel against Itachi. If you ever try to fight me I'll show you no mercy."

"Cheated? You saw the fight, I won fairly!"

"Then let's have a re-duel and see who-"

"Sasuke, I feel sick!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed.

Sasuke dropped what he was about to say and looked down at Naruto worriedly.

"What's wrong, love?" Sasuke activated his sharingan and scanned his eyes over Naruto's stomach to check for anything abnormal.

"I don't know. Lets go home." Naruto hid his face in Sasuke's chest and clung to him.

"Fine." Sasuke glared at Neji. "We'll finish this conversation another time."

Neji said nothing. His angry expression said it all.

Shino watched Sasuke leave in silence. The world of high-level clans was vastly different than his own. It both intrigued and terrified him. They were all so full of anger and power. Even high-level submissives seemed different.

Except for Naruto. Naruto had remained a perfect angel through out the entire conversation and had yet managed to end the tense fight by uttering only one sentence. He was in a league of his own, no body had noticed it but Shino sure did and now he was certain that if he ever did find a submissive -they had to be someone exactly like Naruto.

* * *

"Are you sure you're feeling better? Is the pregnancy getting to you?" Sasuke asked worriedly later that night.

They were in a palace in the capital; the coliseum was only a few blocks away from their new dwelling. Naruto's proclamation of feeling unwell meant that they couldn't make the two-day carriage ride back to the Uchiha palace in their clan's territory. The palace they were staying in had been bought for this exact purpose. If any member of the Uchiha royal family was in the capital for whatever reason and couldn't or didn't want to make the two day journey back home, they could stay here.

"I told you, I think the cold got to me, I'm fine now. It isn't the baby." Naruto snuggled deep underneath the covers. His back was turned to Sasuke.

"Then why are you acting so weird?"

"I'm not." Naruto replied simply.

"Yes-" Sasuke encircled his arms around Naruto's waist and dragged him closer so that Naruto's body was pushed up against his, "-you are."

Naruto stiffened. He closed his eyes and tried to not let Sasuke's sudden closeness affect him.

"Come on, love, please tell me. I hate not knowing what's wrong with you. You're mad at me, I can sense it. When I hold you like this you usually give off a sweet smell, but right now there's nothing."

Naruto sulked. Sasuke was a fool if he didn't know why he was mad. He turned his body around and sat up.

"You were flirting with that black haired submissive! I was standing right there next to you and you still flirted right in front of me like that!" Naruto cried. "I had to stand there quietly like some statue while he fawned all over you!"

"I flirted with Haku?" Sasuke repeated out loud. He was confused. "I would never do that, love."

"Yes you did!" The tears Naruto had been holding back fell one after another. "We've only been married for a few months and I've already heard of your playboy reputation!" Naruto had heard a lot during his morning walks through the Uchiha clan streets with Deidara. He pretended he couldn't hear what people were whispering but he heard it all. Every single little thing they said. Not only about him but about Sasuke as well. "You've slept with courtesans, concubines, even geishas!" Naruto yelled, he was so angry that his words came out faster than he could think. _"You've been with so many whores, I thought that you loved me so I stupidly thought that you'd stop your playboy behavior even though I'm pregnant with your child you're still at it! I can't believe you flirted with that poor excuse of a submissive in front of me! He's not even a submissive, he's a beta! An omega would never act the way he did! But if that's your type then maybe I should-"_

Sasuke quickly sat up and kissed Naruto's rapidly moving lips. Naruto instantly stopped talking but the scowl on his face remained.

"I'll admit, in the past I was a bit-"

"-of a whore." Naruto finished heatedly.

"Yeah," Sasuke sighed, "I was young and angry. I was in love with you but I couldn't have you. I wanted to make you mine but I didn't want to hurt my brother. I didn't know what to do with my self. I was also under the impression that you loved Itachi too. I felt bitter. I chased my anger away with pleasure,"

"Why would you assume how i felt about you or Itachi if I wasn't even there!" Naruto sniffled. "I hate Sasuke!"

"Don't say that." Sasuke's inner beast couldn't take Naruto saying such a thing. "I love you so much, all those people I fucked were meaningless, I always imagined that they were you, even when I used to fuck Sakura, I'd imagine she was you."

Naruto blushed. The tears were still slowly falling but there was a small smile stretched across his plump lips. "Really?" Naruto asked skeptically, "you thought about me?"

"I don't think you understand how in love with you I was and am." Sasuke wiped Naruto's tears away as he spoke, "there's no one else I want but you, all other submissives don't even compare."

Naruto's cheeks burned red. "Really?"

"Yes." Sasuke said earnestly. He kissed Naruto's wet cheeks. "I don't want anyone else but you." Sasuke caressed Naruto's stomach, "there isn't anyone else who I'd want to carry my son."

Naruto smiled adoringly at his mate. He kissed Sasuke's jaw. "I'm sorry I got so mad."

"It's okay, there's so many hormones coursing through your body because of your pregnancy that you can't help it," Sasuke chuckled. "And besides I think it's cute when you're angry, you get so riled up that you actually switch to your mother language. You've done it once before when you were cumming while I was inside you. It's adorable."

"I really can't help it!" Naruto exclaimed embarrassed. He hid his face in Sasuke's chest.

"I know it's cute." Sasuke laid back and pulled Naruto down with him so that he was still lying on top of his chest. "So, do you feel better now that you've told me what was bothering you?"

"Yes." Naruto smiled. "Much better."

It was a lie. Sasuke had only alleviated only one of the things that had been bothering him. The other thing on Naruto's mind was something much deeper than jealousy but Sasuke didn't need to know that. Sasuke never needed to know. As long as he was by Sasuke's side he could prevent it from happening.

Naruto closed his eyes as Sasuke played with his hair. He internally vowed to keep Sasuke safe. He couldn't save Itachi but he'd do everything in his power to save Sasuke.

* * *

"So this is where we'll be staying tonight?" Haku's brown eyes took in the unimpressive room before him. "I heard the Uchiha's have an entire palace to themselves and yet we have to share this palace with other royal families? Fantastic." Haku huffed out and angry puff of air as he entered the room and looked around.

"You should be grateful you're sleeping in such a luxurious room. I could've had you sleep with the maids." Neji replied morosely.

"There's only one bed where will I be sleeping?" Haku demanded, completely ignoring what Neji had just said.

"You'll be sleeping with me obviously."

"I will do no such thing!" Haku screamed then fell into a laughing fit. "Isn't it against your silly countries rules for a submissive and dominant to be alone together if they aren't married? Wait do you think if we do sleep together our betrothal will be called off because if so then I'll definitely sleep with you." Haku asked expectantly. He sat on the edge of the bed and opened his legs invitingly. He trailed his pale hand against the shiny fabric gathered between his thighs. "If sleeping with you means I'll be free I'll gladly let you bed me."

"Close your legs, don't prostrate yourself like some cheap courtesan!" Neji snapped. "My father would obviously never allow that to happen. He has eyes and ears in this palace. He'd know it if I did anything to you and would put a stop to it."

"That's too bad." Haku deflated. He shut his legs and sprawled them out. "If I didn't have to marry you I could've married someone much stronger than you. Someone like-"

"Shut up." Neji growled.

"Sasuke-san." Haku continued. Unbothered by Neji's warning. "He's such a strong dominant I could sense it." Haku closed his eyes and recollected the masculine aura the Uchiha emitted earlier. "That weak submissive of his is no match for him. He could do much better-"

Neji wrapped his hands around Haku's little neck before he could say another word. "I told you to shut up. Do you think you can sit here and insult me like this and I'll just allow it? You forget that you're no longer in the hidden mist, in this county submissives are supposed to worship their dominants!"

A wicked smile suddenly adorned Haku's doll-like face. He placed his hand over Neji's and instantly Neji's hand was covered in ice.

"What the fuck did you do to me!?" Neji roared as he used his byakugan to analyze what had happened to his hand. "Is this ice!?"

"Stop panicking you look like a crying child. It's unattractive." Haku said with a distasteful expression on his pretty face. "Sasuke-sama would never act in such an undignified way."

"I'll punish you for your insolent behavior!" Neji banged his fist against the wall and the ice shattered off of his hand.

"You and I both know that isn't going to happen." Haku snapped his small fingers and immediately the hulking body of his bodyguard appeared at the doorway. Thick layers of armor covered his tan skin and there was a mask covering the lower half of his face. The large sword strapped to his back was almost as big as him. Anyone who looked at him would be able to tell that he was a man trained to do only one thing and that was kill.

"Zabuza," Haku greeted his bodyguard, he beckoned Zabuza towards him.

"Yes, master?" Zabuza grunted.

"Stand guard outside tonight. My future 'dominant' is acting strange tonight. I fear for my safety without you there." Haku said as he ran his little fingers against the shiny silver steel of the sword on Zabuza's back.

"Is that all, master?" Zabuza asked evenly. He could see right through Haku's innocent act. He knew Haku better than anyone else, his master feared nothing.

"No, also bring me my luggage from the carriage."

"Very well then, I'll be back, master." Zabuza announced then left.

"Try something like that again and I'll freeze your entire body until you resemble an icicle and then I'll have my guard shatter you to pieces with his sword." Haku said in a fake sweet tone when Zabuza left. Haku got up off the bed. "I'll be back, don't wait up."

"Where are you going?" Neji demanded.

"Obviously I'm going in to bathe. Just because I have to share this palace with lowly royals like some beggar doesn't mean I'll act like one. Only a poor commoner would go to bed filthy."

"There's a tub right over there you don't have to go anywhere."

"Do you expect me to bathe with you in here?" Haku laughed.

"I am your future dominant your body will belong to me in the future so yes I do expect you to bathe in here. There are many submissives who'd kill to be in your place so stop misbehaving and do as I say."

Haku rolled his brown eyes. "You could never truly dominant my body, your words hold very little meaning to me. Don't wait up, I'll be back whenever I please." Haku left the room and slammed the door behind him.

Neji hissed. He was so heated he wanted to wring Haku's neck until he couldn't breath anymore. He couldn't of course on the account that Haku was the submissve his father had chosen for him. It wasn't fair; Haku was the most irritating submissive he had ever met. He deserved a submissive of high quality just like Naruto! Someone who'd worship him and attend to his every littlest desire.

There was a knock on the door. Neji got up to answer it. He already had a pretty good guess who it was.

"I knew you'd come back, you wouldn't wander around this palace without your beloved body guard." Neji opened the door expecting to see the annoying face of his betrothed but was stunned to see jade green eyes staring back at him. The person staring at him was cloaked in a robe, their head was covered by a hood and there mouth was covered by a mask.

"Who are you?" Neji ordered.

The hooded person pulled off their mask, revealing pink lips. "I knew you'd be here, Neji-san." The figure spoke and then took down their hood. One look at the unveiled bright pink hair and Neji knew who the person was. "I knew if I waited for a day that Sasuke-kun took Naruto to a duel you'd show up as well since you've been dying to see him."

"What are you doing here, Sakura?" He had hadn't seen Sasuke's old submissive since the wedding. "How you'd know I'd be here? Did Sasuke send you here!?"

"Please lower your voice, no one knows I'm here. I don't have a lot of time but I have a proposition for you. It involves you getting a chance to fuck the submissive you love so much. If you want to hear my plan then let me in."

Neji took less than a second to make up his mind. "Come in, but hurry up I don't have all night."

"You should learn to be a little patient, Neji-san," Sakura smirked, "After all good things always come to those who wait."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to give a HUGE thank you to everyone who left me input on my previous chapter. It sucks that comments aren't the norm on this site like it is on other sites but I'm happy with the little feedback I do get! I truly loved reading your reactions to Itachi's "downfall" xD It had to happen guys, sorry! Don't worry Itachi won't be gone for long ^^


	9. The White Eyed King

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: forced sexual situations. Beware if you can't handle "rapey" situations. Enjoy!

"A submissive from mist country?" Fugaku repeated what his son had just told him. The hard lines at the corner of his mouth deepened as he scowled.

"Yes, the wedding is this weekend." Sasuke replied morosely. "Apparently he's the only submissive son of the emperor."

"Of all the countries the Hyūga could've chosen they choose the bloody mist," Fugaku gave a long-winded sigh. "What are the Hyūgas doing creating a marriage alliance with such a savage clan?"

"I don't know but I found it suspicious too." Sasuke added.

"Perhaps it's because of me, Fugaku-san." Naruto spoke up. It wasn't a submissives place to speak on political issues but since Naruto had gone through his mental change he was doing all sorts of things that submissives normally shouldn't do. "Since I'm from a powerful clan from Whirlpool perhaps the Hyūga clan feel that they should deepen their relationships with other countries as well? It makes sense, if others see that the Uchiha clan is widening its relationship with clans outside of Fire Country, other clans will do the same."

Fugaku's scowl deepened, he pretended as if Naruto hadn't spoken at all. "Since the Hyūga's have invited you personally you have no choice but to go. Be on your guard though, I don't trust those Hyūga's. You shouldn't bring your submissive with you, having Naruto there will only distract you."

"That's nonsense, I wouldn't distract Sasuke!"

"Let me rephrase it then-" Fugaku contended, "If you go you might say something or speak out of place like you do here and make the Uchiha clan look bad."

"Father, enough of this. It isn't even up for debate Naruto  _will_  be going with me." Sasuke postulated. "Naruto is a perfect submissive, he wouldn't ever bring shame upon our clan."

"You're a fool, son." Fugaku sighed, "But very well, do as you please." Fugaku droned. "But at the very least take a guard with you so that you wont have to babysit Naruto at all times."

"That's actually a good idea." Sasuke stated, "Deidara,"

"Yes, Uchiha-san?" The new addition to the Uchiha palace dropped what he was doing and bowed to the Uchiha king.

"Have you ever been to the Hyūga clan territory before?"

Deidara touched his finger to his lips and raised his eyes up so he could think for a second, "Uhhh I don't think so, I've never really traveled before!"

"Good, go pack your bags. You'll be accompanying Naruto and I to Neji's wedding."

Deidara eyes sparkled, "Okay!" He bowed once more then ran out of the room to go do as told.

"Thank you." Naruto whispered.

"Of course, anything for my little love." Sasuke kissed Naruto. "There's no way I'd leave you behind. I want to see that white-eyed bastard's face when he see's how beautiful you look by my side carrying my child."

Sakura who had been standing at the back of the room with the rest of the maids smirked. Everything was falling perfectly into plan. The dumb blond should've listened to Fugaku-san. If he had he would've been able to what she had planned for him.

* * *

 

The Hyūga clan was the second strongest clan in fire country. They were also the largest. They outnumbered the Uchiha clan by one hundred and it showed the day of Neji Hyūga's wedding.

Every seat during the ceremony was taken. The combination of the Hyūga clan members added with all of the invited royal guests mixed together to create one of the largest gatherings for a wedding ever seen.

Naruto was grateful that after the ceremony all of the guests who weren't of royal blood were required to leave. Unlike the Uchiha weddings there was no "greeting party" after the ceremony. Instead, royal guests were escorted to a golden dining room where they'd come together and dine with the newly wedded couple.

"As the new ruler of the Hyūga clan I'd like to thank you all for journeying all the way here to celebrate my coronation and marriage."

Neji was dressed in the colors of his clan; white. He matched with his young looking bride. Haku's white kimono was short, his small geta covered feet poked out at the bottom. His long black hair was pulled tightly into a high ponytail and little white flowers were stringed throughout it. Haku's light brown eyes, which were outlined with a gray pigment, regarded the party guests with unimpressed monotony. From the look on his face one would never believe that he was a lucky submissive bride celebrating his wedding day.

"I know that all of you are busy royals who have their own clans to worry about so it means a lot that you could make it." Neji smiled.

Sasuke could see right through it. Neji was good at pretending to be diplomatic.

"I'd like to especially thank my submissive's brothers for coming all the way from Mist Country."

Sasuke eyed the two dominants seated across the table. They had introduced themselves as Suigetsu and Kisame. They both had strange sharp teeth, they didn't even appear human. The taller dominant sort of looked like a shark and the shorter white haired one looked like a fish. Their father, the emperor of Mist Country, hadn't been able to make the wedding but Sasuke wished he had just so he could see what type of man had made such unsettling looking children,

After Neji was done speaking dinner began. Gleaming silver platters of food were brought out, a whole roasted hog, sizzling squid, overly stuffed cooked duck, and many other delectable treats were produced for the royals to enjoy. But none of them paid attention to the luxurious banquet. There was a huge proverbial elephant in the room.

Sasuke had brought only one of his pregnant submissives to the wedding. Everyone had noticed it.

"So, how has married life been, Sasuke-san?" Ten-ten asked cordially. Her brown eyes shone with curiosity. "Everything must've changed now that Naruto-san is pregnant."

"Yeah, I've been wondering that myself, it must be hard with two submissives to handle." Shino added.

"I can only imagine how difficult it is for you. Speaking from experience I can attest that married life is hard." Ino sneered angrily without looking in Sasuke's direction.

He was the one responsible for her current predicament. He had been the one who had advised her father to betroth her to the worst dominant in all of Fire Country.

"Naruto is a submissive who knows how to submit to his dominant so I doubt he has any of the problems we do, honey." Kiba, the source Ino's misery and new husband said sarcastically.

"Guys, please. Let's remain civil you're married now." Ten-ten murmured quietly.

"Only if she learns to respect her dominant! I'm her husband she needs to learn how to worship me!" Kiba barked.

"That's so ridiculous! Who would worship a mutt like you!" Ino yelled back.

"Enough. This isn't how a new king and his bride is supposed to behave in public." Sasuke scolded stoically.

"Fine." Ino ticked her tongue and looked away from Kiba.

"Back to the topic at hand," Shino spoke up with a nervous current buzzing through his voice, "how is it really like being married to two submissives at the same time, Sasuke-sama?"

The gathered royals all turned their attention to the Uchiha king. They had been silently wondering why Sasuke hadn't brought his other pink-haired submissive along as well. The last they had heard of her she had been pregnant and been demoted to being treated as the second wife but that didn't explain why Sasuke hadn't brought her to the wedding.

"Sakura is no longer my submissive or a princess, she's been disowned so my married life has been drastically improved."

"You've ended your marriage contract with her?" Ino gasped, the anger draining from her due to the good news.

The other royals were on the edge of their seats. This was prime information. Even Neji's ears perked in interest at the new revelation. So this was the true motivation for Sakura's plan. She had come to his room and told him that her plan was motivated by pure annoyance for Naruto; he had no idea she had been disowned and separated from Sasuke.

"Yeah, she's been working as a maid in my palace these days."

"That's harsh. A pregnant submissve shouldn't have to work at all." Ten-ten said sadly. Her words were sympathetic but there was a hint of happiness in her brown eyes. It was pure karma that Sakura's life had taken such a drastic turn downward.

"Sakura isn't pregnant. She lost the baby. A maids work is more than reasonable work for her."

"She lost the baby?" Ten-ten all but bursted into tears. Sakura-chan could sometimes be mean and she more than deserved the karma she was getting but Ten-ten didn't wish such an unfortunate thing upon her. When a submissive lost a baby it was like losing a part of themselves. "That's so sad! I'd be devastated if I lost my child."

"Things happen." Sasuke replied. "It was Kaguya's will, Sakura was never meant to be the mother of my children."

"I guess you're right when you put it like that..." Ten-ten pouted.

"What about for you, Naruto-sama? How's your life been since getting married to Sasuke?" Shino questioned shyly. This was the first time tonight he had built up the courage to speak directly to Naruto.

"Being married to Sasuke has been like a dream." Naruto answered honestly. A red hue covered his cheeks.

"A dream is exactly what I'd call it. A submissive of your level would never be married to a dominant at Sasuke-sama's level in my clan. You should be happy since it's practically a miracle." Haku laughed to hide how rude his words really were.

"Yes, I am happy that Sasuke is now mine and I am now his. I'm the only one who will have Sasuke's children and that means everything to me." Naruto's blue eyes peered into Haku's brown ones. Silently warning him to stop. Haku had been staring at Sasuke all night and it was getting on Naruto's nerves. He already had to deal with Sakura back at home he wasn't going to let anyone else even dream that they could come onto  _his_  alpha.

The guests were taken aback by Naruto's innocent possessiveness. They didn't know of the silent conflict between Naruto and Haku so Naruto being so possessive of his dominant when there was no opposing threat present was odd to them.

"It must feel good to have a submissive who cares so much about you, eh Sasuke?" Neji drawled. A teasing smile was on his lips.

"Yes, having Naruto's love is exhilarating." Sasuke smirked. "I hope you can finally experience the joy I do everyday with your own submissive."

"Believe me, I will. My submissive will worship me."

Haku rolled his eyes. "The only way I'll ever worship you is if you suddenly sprouted a third eye and your name was Kaguya." Haku drawled dryly.

Almost every submissive in the room gasped. A submissive wasn't allowed to speak out against their husbands like that. The only people who weren't shocked by Haku's behavior were Naruto because he already knew that Haku was a beta, Sasuke because he honestly didn't care, and Haku's two elder brothers because they were used to their little brother speaking his mind no matter whom he was speaking to. The guests waited on bated breath to see what Neji would do to punish his mouthy submissive.

To everyone's utter amazement Neji only glared at the little black haired submissive. His white eyes were filled with pure annoyance for Haku but he didn't lay a single finger on him.

"I knew you wouldn't do anything." Haku muttered angrily, "you never do. You're too scared."

Sasuke found the entire scene comical. Neji had made him self look like a complete fool. Unlike him, Neji had inherited his crown at birth; he was born to be a ruler. He had undergone vigorous training to claim his crown but the way his submissive openly disobeyed him was enough for Neji's rigorous training to be molded into the perfect king utterly obsolete. No king would ever allow someone, especially a submissive, to disrespect them so openly.

The dinner ended an hour later. Due to the lateness of the night all of the royal guests who were too tired to make the journey back home were given a room to stay for the night. Sasuke seized the opportunity. He didn't want to stay in Hyūga clan territory but this was the perfect opportunity for him to act. He knew Neji had cheated during the duel versus Itachi and he was going to find out how tonight.

* * *

 

"But why can't I come with you?" Naruto whined. He was seated on Sasuke's lap in their new room for the night.

"I already explained it to you, love. You can't come, I can't get caught and if you're by my side I might lose my concentration. I need absolute focus to sneak around. My father wasn't completely wrong, you are a distraction when it comes to certain things."

"But I don't want to be here all alone!" Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke's neck and twined his fingers in his mates black hair. He loved how soft it was, it was so deceiving to the eyes, the way Sasuke's hair stuck up stiffly in the back led one to believe that his hair would be hard but it was wonderfully soft to the touch and Naruto adored it.

"You won't be, Deidara's right outside standing guard. I'll be back as fast as I can."

Naruto frowned at Sasuke. His bottom lip jutted out childishly. "If Deidara's outside then I'm still alone! I want to be with Sasuke!"

"You're not alone," Sasuke smiled and caressed the underside of Naruto's growing belly. "You'll also have the baby to keep you company."

"I hate that you're right!" Naruto pouted, he laid his head on Sasuke's shoulder "I still don't understand why you have to go though. Why can't Sasuke just stay here with me?"

"This is my only chance to find out if that bastard actually cheated during the duel." Sasuke said coldly. "I'm sure he did, there's no way a man like him could ever beat Itachi." Sasuke's hands tightened into fist, "I  _know_  he cheated and I think I know how he did it too."

"How?" Naruto marveled.

"Isn't it obvious? He used his seemingly innocent little sister to do his dirty work."

"Hinata?" Naruto cocked his head. Hinata was the sweetest submissive he had met in his entire life. She was always quiet and rarely ever even looked up from the ground. Naruto couldn't believe someone like her would ever take part in something so heinous like cheating.

"I remembered something about the duel, before it started Hinata was mumbling something and both her hands were clasped together. At the time I thought she was praying for her brothers safety but the more I think about it the more suspicious it seems."

"Do you think she was casting a jutsu?" Naruto whispered. He was getting scared thinking about it. If Hinata had casted a jutsu then he had misjudged her completely. Was her sweet demeanor all an act? How did she even learn to cast jutsus?

"All night she couldn't even look me in eye, it was the same at our wedding when I greeted her. She's feeling guilty about something and I'm sure it's because my theory of her having part in Itachi's demise is correct."

Naruto tightened his hold around Sasuke's neck. "I really don't want you to go but," he let his arms drop and cradled his belly, "this is important so I'll let you leave us."

Sasuke smiled. "Thank you." He kissed Naruto's soft lips and then Naruto's covered stomach.

"I'll be back as soon as I find her." Sasuke moved to get up.

"Wait!" Naruto yelled before Sasuke could leave.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked. Alarmed by Naruto's outburst.

"You can go but promise me, if you end up getting caught by Neji and he challenges you to a duel, don't accept it."

"Naruto I-"

"I said don't accept it! Promise me that you won't accept it!" Naruto screamed. His chest rose up and down rapidly from the sheer force of his words.

Sasuke's eyes widened. He kissed Naruto's lips again. "Okay, I won't."

"Thank you." Naruto said breathlessly.

"You need to relax," Sasuke rubbed Naruto's red cheeks with his thumb. He had yelled so hard that his face had turned red, "take a nice bath, or take a nap. I don't want you to worry too much while I'm gone. It's not good for you or the baby."

"Okay." Naruto replied obediently. "I'll do as Sasuke says.

* * *

 

Sasuke trekked through the darkened halls. He had his sharingan activated as a precaution just in case someone tried to ambush him in the dim lighting. He was on high alert, looking for something that he wasn't quite sure where was at.

He knew that the answer he wanted laid with Neji's beloved little sister. He was absolutely certain that Hinata had played a part in Itachi's downfall. The only way he could confirm that hunch was by finding Hinata. It was proving to be a difficult task though, the Hyūga palace was smaller than the Uchiha palace but it still held a considerable sum of rooms.

By the time Sasuke got to the second floor a whole hour had passed. He wanted to go check on Naruto just to reassure his love that he was okay but he couldn't due to the time constraint. He had to find Hinata  _before_  the midnight hour struck, it'd be a hassle to explain why he was out of bed so late in the night if he did end up getting caught.

Sasuke made it to the end of the corridor. There was only one room left to check in this section of the palace. It wasn't until he moved to open the door of the room that he noticed that the door was slightly ajar.

He cautiously pushed the door open and scanned the room. The room appeared empty but Sasuke knew that to be untrue. He could sense another presence. The person was suppressing their aura so that it'd be hard for an untrained eye to spot them.

"Come out, I know you're there." Sasuke activated a single flame on the tip of his finger, preparing to blast a hole through the person's chest if they dared to attempt a sneak attack. "If you don't come out I'll turn this entire room into a pile of ashes."

The sound of laughter greeted Sasuke's ears. He felt an invisible pressure flit around him and then, out of thin air Haku materialized before him.

"You have good senses, Sasuke-sama. You could detect me so easily and yet my idiot dominant never can."

"What are you doing here? And why the hell were you suppressing your aura?" Sasuke demanded.

"I wasn't in the mood to be bothered. And this  _is_  my room, it'd be strange if I weren't here." Haku laughed again, it sounded like a breathy whine being forced out of his small lungs. "On the other hand it's quite strange for you to be here, is there anything in particular you were looking for?" Haku stepped closer.

"Nothing in particular," Sasuke lied easily.

"Are you sure?" Haku was standing so close that Sasuke could see the tiny honey gold flecks inside his irises as he fluttered his long lashes. "It's almost midnight, a king has no reason to be up so late." Haku taunted. He had let his long black hair down, there were still flowers stringed through it but many had fallen out. He was also still dressed in his white kimono, the attire of a bride.

"Its your wedding night, you should be with Neji."

"Yes, I probably should be but if I were with him I couldn't be here with you right now could I, Uchiha-sama?" Haku smiled, "so, why are you wondering out so late? Looking for something...someone?" As Haku spoke he trailed his small fingers down Sasuke's chest. Dragging them down in a flirtatious manner.

Sasuke grimaced. He could now see what Naruto had been talking about. Haku was in fact flirting with him. Sasuke wanted to laugh, no submissive, especially one like Haku, could ever sway him but he could use Haku's silly little crush on him to aid his endeavor.

Sasuke smiled seductively. "Actually there is someone I'm looking for, do you think you can help me find them?"

"Really, who?" Haku lit up at the thought of being able to help a strong dominant like Sasuke.

"Hinata. Where is her room?" Sasuke asked, getting straight to the point.

"Oh. Another submissive." Haku said in a clipped tone. He looked away and crossed his arms over his small chest. "Why do you need to see her so late into the night? I'm right here, I can assure you that my company is just as good as hers."

Sasuke's eye twitched. Haku was trying his patience. He shouldn't have to explain himself to a damn submissive especially if that submissive wasn't Naruto. "I need to see her for clan reasons. I believe she's keeping a secret for her brother and I plan on making her tell me it." Sasuke said bluntly.

"A secret for Neji?" Haku's interest was caught, "this secret...would it...lets say would it  _anger_  Neji if you found it out?"

"It'd ruin him." Sasuke smirked.

Haku's eyes doubled in size, as if he had just been delivered the answer to his life's problems on a silver tray.

"Her rooms in the west wing, its two halls away from here. She has a guard standing outside her room through out the night and her handmaiden occasionally sleeps in her room so be cautious."

"Thank you, Haku." Sasuke moved to leave but before he could move an inch Haku's arms were wrapped around his neck. "I didn't give you that information for free, Sasuke-sama." Haku snickered. "Tonight is my wedding night, a submissive is supposed to lose their virginity on their wedding night but as you can see my juban is still pure white." Sasuke looked down and just as Haku had said his juban was indeed white. "My newly wedded husband wasn't dominant enough to make me lust for him-but you Sasuke-sama, have made me burn with a desire to be filled."

Sasuke quirked his lips, he had to admit Haku's flattery inflated his ego but there was no one he wanted to fill but Naruto. "You're not the first submissive who's craved me like this, if you had asked me a few years ago I probably would've fucked you but I'm married and in love. I can't give you what you want."

"Is that so?" Haku traced a shape on Sasuke's chest with his finger. A little heart over where Sasuke's actual heart lay. "But you see I don't care about any of that. You're better than Neji in every single way. It's not fair that all of the good dominants are already taken. Naruto doesn't deserve you."

"Watch it. Don't speak ill of my submissive." Sasuke growled.

"Tell me Uchiha-sama, Naruto is pregnant so he probably can't sexually satisfy you like he once did. I can be his replacement. I'll do everything for you that he can't. I'll give you my virginity, you can do anything to my body that you desire." Haku grabbed Sasuke's hand and dragged it behind himself until it was laying over his ass, "all yours." Haku gyrated his hips up against Sasuke's; "you can fuck me as hard as you want you don't have to worry about treating me like some delicate little flower who'll throw up if you thrust into me to roughly like Naruto."

"I'm warning you. Say another bad thing about Naruto and I'll hurt you."

Haku grinned. His excitement doubled. This was what he craved, being at the mercy of a powerful dominant. It was exhilarating; it turned him on even more. "I'm only telling the truth, Naruto is weak and I'm strong. It must be frustrating having to hold back when you fuck-"

Haku screamed when a searing burning pain enveloped over his eye. He quickly put his hand over it and iced it over.

"Did you just burn me?" Haku groaned as he dissolved the ice. He attempted to open his eye. "It hurts." Haku whined.

"I warned you."

"I know that's why I provoked you." Haku moaned. The pain was unreal, so good that it intensified his desire for Sasuke.

"Are you-" Sasuke stared at Haku with astonishment as Haku reached between his thighs and rubbed himself, "are you a fucking masochist?"

"That's such a mean word Sasuke-sama, I simply enjoy being dominated by strong dominants like you."

"God, you're perfect for Neji. Stop touching yourself," Sasuke forced Haku's hands to stop their ministrations, "I don't have time for this I have to go find that assholes little sister still and then get back to my mate."

"I wont let you leave, I'm so ready to be taken by you, can't you smell it I know you want me too!" Haku clung to Sasuke's arm.

"Get off of me before I burn you again!"

"Yes, please!" Haku's eyes glistened with desire.

"Fuck, never mind, it's meaningless if it just gets you off."

"Please just fuck me already." Haku begged.

Sasuke growled. "You're wasting my time." He shook Haku off and glared into Haku's glassy eyes.

Haku's body trembled at the direct eye contact. "Sasuke-sama, your eyes are-" Haku collapsed in Sasuke's arms.

"I can't believe I had to use my sharingan just to restrain you." Sasuke hissed angrily. He picked Haku up and tossed him onto the empty bed.

He glared at Haku's unconscious face. There was a bright red cut going down Haku's right eye. The cut began at his eyebrow and ended in the middle of his plump cheek. Sasuke sighed, suddenly feeling exhausted. If he had ever doubted Kaguya he didn't now. She had somehow managed to give Neji a submissive that was even worse than him.

Sasuke took one last look at Haku's face and then left, off to complete his task. Thanks to this detour he was in a bad mood. He hoped for Hinata's sake that she was sleeping when he arrived at her room.

* * *

 

It had been twenty long minutes already and Sasuke still hadn't come back. Naruto was trying very hard to not think about all of the horrible possibilities that could've happened. Sasuke had told him to relax but relaxing was much easier said than done.

Naruto sat on the edge of the large bed. To calm himself down he decided to carefully observe the room. It was typical; it wasn't as heavily decorated as the Uchiha palace rooms. The walls were white and mostly bare. There was one window that led to a terrace. The curtains over it were also white. There was a tea table in the corner and a heated tub in the other corner. It was smaller than the one in his and Sasuke's room. Naruto involuntarily blushed as he recalled what had happened the last time he had been in a tub with Sasuke.

Maybe Sasuke was right. He needed to relax and the perfect way to do that was by taking a nice long hot bath. Naruto stood up and shuffled over to the empty tub. He bent over and turned the water on.

The tub filled, instantly making heat billow around the cold room. The calming warmth of the heat made Naruto think about Sasuke. His body was craving his alphas touch. The vivid memories of the last time they were in a tub together on their wedding night was getting to him.

He shut the water off and was about to begin the arduous task of taking off the multiple layers of his kimono when a pale hand suddenly snaked across his stomach.

Naruto whirled around and pushed the owner of the pale hand away. He recognized its owner's scent.

"What are you doing here, Neji-san?" Naruto asked incredulously. "It's your wedding night, you shouldn't be here. You should be with Haku!"

"My submissive won't let me touch him tonight or probably any other night," Neji touched a newly forming red bruise on his cheek, "I grew tired of trying to force him so I decided to come play with you."

"How did you know this was my room?" Naruto asked tensely.

"Let's just a little birdie told me where to find you. You smell delicious; you were about to go into the tub weren't you? Now I can help you undress." Neji purred.

"Who told you?" Naruto demanded. He refused to succumb to the fear rising in his throat.

"It isn't important who, all that matters is that I'm here." Neji grinned. "She was right…you actually came like she had said."

"So it was a girl who told you? Who is she? What's her name?!"

"Like I said a little birdie."

"If you're not going answer then get out of my room!" Naruto hissed.

"Or what?" Neji teased.

"Deidara!" Naruto yelled for his guard.

"He won't hear you." Neji feigned a sad expression. "He's all tied up."

"Liar! Deidara is strong, he'd never be beaten by you!" Naruto looked towards the closed door and tried to feel for his cousin's presence but he could feel nothing. "Dei-kun...What did you do to him! You better not have hurt him!" Naruto fumed.

"He's fine, I'd never hurt another submissive." Neji said innocently. Naruto didn't believe him.

"If you don't leave right now I'll call Sasuke." Naruto threatened.

"We both know Sasuke close enough to hear you." Neji smirked. He took a step towards Naruto.

"How did you know he wasn't here?" Naruto was full on panicking now. Every time he took a step back Neji would take another step forward. It was in an omegas nature to naturally fear an alpha. The primal urge to run was circulating deeply within Naruto's subconscious but he couldn't obey it, he was too proud to. He wasn't weak; he wouldn't listen to his primal instincts.

"Because if Sasuke were close by he would've come by now." Neji explained like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "he's such a fool, what kind of man would leave his pregnant submissive all alone with only one lousy submissive guard to watch over him?" Neji ticked his tongue disapprovingly, "it's like he wants others to have a taste of what's his. He's practically inviting me."

"Don't take another step closer!" Naruto screamed. He conjured up what little energy he had and materialized a rasengan and raised his hand in position to throw it at Neji. His body immediately rejected his overuse of energy; the rasengan began to flicker on and off. He couldn't sustain it because of his pregnancy. He began to feel lightheaded. But he forced it to remain; he had been pushed to the edge of fear and was now in defense mode.

"I'm impressed, I've never seen a jutsu like that, especially from a pregnant submissive," Neji continued to move closer. "But that won't harm me. You should put it away before you hurt yourself."

"The only person I'll hurt is you!" Naruto yelled. His arm was trembling and the rasengan was nothing but a shadow of its usual power. "Come any closer and I'll put this through your face!" Naruto bellowed.

"It'd be in your best interest to stop screaming." Neji glared.

"Why would I ever do that!" Naruto said loudly. His rasengan began to spin even slower.

"Because I know your weakness Naruto," Neji's lips split into an ear splitting grin, "Sasuke may not have noticed the reason for your little outburst at the duel last week but I did," Neji's smile widened even more, "you're terrified of me challenging him to a duel aren't you? Its obvious."

Naruto gasped. His inner most fear had just been exposed. He quickly shook his head no in denial. He raised the rasengan higher and threatened to throw it. It was an empty threat and they both knew it, Naruto's hands were shaking. There was practically no rasengan left in his hand to even throw.

"You don't need to lie, I know that you're terrified that if I duel Sasuke he'll end up just like Itachi." Neji finally closed the space between them, he stroked the soft silk of Naruto's obi, "You saw how I beat Itachi, it'll be easy for me to kill Sasuke. I'll make a deal with you, let me see your body and I won't challenge your beloved Sasuke."

Naruto let the rest of his rasengan fizzle away. It finally settled that this was really going to happen. He had vowed to himself that he'd take care of Sasuke no matter what. He had no choice but to make good on his internal promise even if that meant putting his pride aside.

"You look scared Naruto, relax...Weren't you just about to take a dip in the tub? Let me help you in." Neji leered. He untied the knot of Naruto's obi and smiled in delight when it slid to the floor. He then took off the first layer of the bright red kimono. It fell to the floor along with the obi. He did the same for the next two layers and stopped when he got to Naruto's juban.

"You're always dressed so beautifully, everything about you is beautiful, even this," Neji purred as he glided his hands up and down the shiny fabric of the black juban. "I wish this was still white." Neji growled. "But nevertheless it's still beautiful." Neji took off the final layer of Naruto's kimono and revealed Naruto's naked body to the muted light of the room.

"Beautiful." Neji murmured in amazement. He touched the tattoo on Naruto's round stomach and then his two pink nipples. "You're so small and cute all over the only thing big on you is your stomach, will your small and delicate body be able to accept my forceful love?"

Naruto wanted to cry. His body felt weird, it wasn't used to anyone else but Sasuke touching it. He was disgusted by Neji's lust filled eyes on him.

"So this is the body the great Uchiha king has been enjoying every night?" Neji scowled, "he doesn't deserve you." Neji cupped Naruto's round ass. "I would've never imagined you wore such provocative undergarments, black lace looks divine on you." Neji pulled Naruto flush against him, he rubbed Naruto's ass as he sniffed the delectable scent of Naruto's neck. "I've never smelled a submissive as good as you, it's even better since you're pregnant, it makes your smell even sweeter." Neji inhaled a large sniff at the base of Naruto's neck, "you'd smell even better if you were carrying my child." Neji trailed a feather light kiss on Naruto's neck, and then cupped his chest. He flicked one of Naruto's pink nipples.

"I wish you had started producing milk already so I could've tasted it." Neji inhaled then snaked his hands back down to Naruto's lace covered ass. "Tell me, how was it? Losing your virginity? I want to know, was it good feeling a man inside you for the first time? I wonder what kind of face you made when he first entered you? Did you pant like a bitch in heat or did you just lie there and cry? How many times has he fucked you? It's still tight right? I hope it is cause I'd love to see those pretty blue eyes of yours fill with tears as I fuck into you. I want to stretch you out until you bleed."

Naruto couldn't take it anymore. He literally felt like he was going to throw up. He found a little bit of courage and pushed Neji away.

"There, you've undressed me, now leave!"

"You were aroused earlier, are you sure you don't want me to satisfy your desires? I'd be more than happy to show you what real pleasure feels like. Sasuke can't satisfy you like me." Neji boasted.

"I'd rather die than feel you inside me!" Naruto hissed, "Sasuke is better than you in every single way! What kind of alpha are you? You already have an omega of your own so why are you lusting for another! How can you call yourself a king when you do such disgraceful things? You're no king! You're a fraud!"

Neji gripped Naruto's arm tightly.

"Watch it! You're still a submissive and I can easily break you. Have you forgotten I know your weakness? It'd be unwise of you to provoke me."

"Leave!" Naruto cried, "You've already gotten what you wanted so leave already!"

"You know what, I changed my mind." Neji pulled Naruto's arm and dragged him to the bed. "I'll go with the original plan after all."

"Stop!" Naruto cried out as Neji roughly pushed onto the bed.

"You're just so beautiful, it'd be a crime if only one dominant got to fuck you." Neji looked over Naruto and then attempted to pry Naruto's legs open but Naruto wouldn't give in, "stop resisting! Open your legs before I force them open!"

"No! I'd rather die!"

Neji put his hand against Naruto's stomach; a white glow surrounded his palm. "If you don't open your legs I'll kill that precious baby that you're so proud of growing inside you."

"Don't you dare hurt him!" Naruto screamed. He wrapped his arms around his stomach to create a barrier.

"Then do as I say and open up your pretty little legs for me!"

"I won't." Naruto whimpered. He was terrified beyond belief but he wasn't weak. He wouldn't let this happen.

"Are you dumb, do you want me to kill your baby?" Neji threatened.

"Of course I don't but I won't allow any man who isn't Sasuke to enter me! That's something only a mate has a privilege to do!"

"Is his dick really that good that you'd be willing to die for it!" Neji growled, "what is it about those Uchiha's that's so fucking great, huh? My clan is just as good as theirs; we're just as strong! I beat Itachi and I'm stronger than your precious Sasuke! And you still don't want me. I have all the privileges that he has!" Neji raved. He had gone mad. "I want you so I'll have you so stop being so stubborn and open your damn legs!" Neji smacked Naruto's thighs, which instantly made Naruto part his legs due to the intense stinging.

Neji tore Naruto's panties off and then grabbed the back of Naruto's thighs so that he wouldn't be able to close his legs again.

"That's better." Neji gazed at Naruto's hole. "Good, it's still tight."

"Stop." Naruto strained against Neji's hold but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't close his legs. He was sweating and he felt like he was going to throw up. If he hadn't been pregnant he could've used a jutsu to fight against Neji but right now he was at half power, that rasengan he had tried to sustain earlier had drained him even more. Mentally he felt strong but physically he was weak.

"How many times have you let Sasuke stuff his dick in here?" Neji rubbed the hole with his thumb.

"Hnn." Naruto couldn't speak. His body was heavy. He could barely even hear Neji's words.

"I'm going to be honest, I only wanted you because you were the Uchiha's property but now-seeing you like this- my dicks never been harder for anyone else before. I don't think I can be gentle so you're just going to have to deal with the pain." Neji pulled his hakama down and rubbed his dick. He groaned, "I'm going to come inside you so that the Uchiha clan can know I've fucked their favorite bitch. Prepare yourself I'm going in dry."

Naruto felt the tip of Neji's dick prod at his entrance and then everything went silent. A sudden rush of energy surged through his body.

"What the fuck is happening!?" Neji yelled as he stared at Naruto's stomach.

Naruto looked down. The intricate lines of his seal mark were glowing bright white.

Naruto's body was flowing with newfound energy. He felt better than he had in months. He opened both his palms and two rasengan formed effortlessly. He aimed them directly at Neji.

"Get off of me." Naruto ordered. The scars on his cheeks appeared darker and his teeth looked like sharp canines.

"What the fuck, did that tattoo give you power?!"

"Get off or I'll kill you." The rasengans had begun to turn into a red bubbling color. Neji had never seen anything like it.

"Very well then," Neji straightened up, and redressed himself, "let's keep what happened between us here a secret, if Sasuke finds out there's no telling what he'd do," Neji smirked, "he might even challenge me to a duel and we both know how much you don't want that."

"Leave!" Naruto screamed. He got out of bed and threw both of the rasengans at Neji but both completely missed. He snatched up his obi from the ground and threw it at Neji's face. "Get out!"

Neji caught the obi and set it down next to Naruto.

"If you change your mind and you get bored of Sasuke I'll be here waiting for you, Naruto." Neji left with a kiss goodbye to Naruto's cheek.

As soon as the door closed Naruto dropped to the floor and sobbed into the silk fabric of his discarded kimono. Neji had only seen his body and touched him but Naruto felt violated. His body was Sasuke's! He hated that someone else other than his alpha had seen him.

Naruto bolted up, suddenly remembering Deidara. He had to untie him before Sasuke showed up. He quickly put his kimono back on and ran out the door to help his cousin but when he did, he didn't see him anywhere.

Seconds later Deidara rounded the corner. He looked confused.

"Naruto-nii! What are you doing out here all alone?" Deidara ran to his cousins' side.

"I was looking for you, where were you Dei?" Naruto questioned. He ran his eyes over Deidara's body to see if Neji had told the truth about not harming him.

"I don't know! I was standing guard but then I suddenly felt very tired, I closed my eyes and when I opened them I was in the maids quarters. I came here as soon as I woke up! I'm sorry Naruto!" Deidara explained frantically.

Naruto knew exactly what had happened to him. Neji had put Deidara to sleep without him knowing, even someone as strong as Deidara could be fooled. That sneaky bastard had lied about tying him up.

"It's okay Dei. I'm not mad so don't worry."

"I'm glad but...what's that scent on you?" Deidara sniffed along Naruto's neck. "It doesn't smell like Sasuke?"

Naruto's face paled. He didn't want Deidara or anyone to know what had happened between him and Neji. He was too ashamed.

"It's nothing, I accidentally spilled some perfume I found all over myself, help me bathe myself before sasuke comes." Naruto lied quickly.

Deidara nodded. He guided Naruto back into the room and helped him bathe his body and hair in the tub. Afterwards he helped him into a silk night slip And then left the room to go back to stand guard outside.

When Sasuke returned later that night Naruto had made him wait to reveal all that he had found out during his secret quest through the Hyūga palace. Naruto needed to feel his dominant inside him. He needed to erase everything that Neji had left behind. As he kissed Sasuke desperately Sasuke understood that something was wrong. Naruto was behaving needier than usual. Sasuke didn't comment on Naruto's unusual behavior, he deduced that Naruto was acting like this because he had missed him.

Only after Naruto was full of Sasuke's seed was he able to finally calm down and drift off to sleep.

That night Naruto dreamt an unusual dream; it was a nightmare straight out of his deepest fears. Sasuke was no longer his alpha. Neji was his new mate and when he gave birth his child had pearl white eyes and a head of brown hair. What was even worse was that Sasuke's new mate was Sakura, she was pregnant as if she had never lost the baby and when her child was born the child had two glowing red eyes. The dream had been so realistic that as Naruto slept he clung to Sasuke, fearful that the dream would become reality and the love of his life would be taken away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Waaah I'm so sorry for the shorter than usual chapter guys! Hope you like it. As always thank you for the kudos and don't be afraid to leave a comment, I read them all and they give me life. xD


	10. Fire Flower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warnings: some angst, mature scenes, character bashing
> 
> Enjoy :)

The next morning Naruto listened to all that Sasuke had found out. Sasuke's suspicions were confirmed; apparently Hinata had helped her brother cheat. To get her to reveal what she had done Sasuke had used his sharingan on her. Under the immense power of the sharingan Hinata revealed that she had casted a spell on Itachi to control him during the duel. It had all been preplanned so Itachi had never even had a chance of winning.

"So, what does this mean?" Naruto murmured.

Naruto and Sasuke were on the long carriage ride back to Uchiha territory. Deidara was riding in a separate carriage with four other guards. The sun was setting in the blue sky and Naruto was clinging tightly onto Sasuke's arm. He hadn't let go of Sasuke since he had woken up from his nightmare. Neji's touch still lingered on his skin and the only way to get rid of it was by having Sasuke as close to him as possible.

"It means Neji didn't win and there will have to be a re-duel." Sasuke seethed.

"But how? Itachi-san is still unconscious." Naruto clutched tighter onto Sasuke, tight enough to bruise. He already knew what Sasuke was going to say next.

"I'll duel him in place of Itachi. As his brother I am the one who should fight in his place."

"No." Naruto murmured brokenly.

"What?"

"I said no!" Naruto yelled at the top his lungs. Everything he had done to prevent this outcome from happening had all been for nothing. He had endured the disgusting feeling of Neji undressing him and touching him for absolutely nothing. It was like a slap to the face. He wasn't strong enough to protect his mate. "You can't duel Neji!"

"Why not?" Sasuke questioned. He was shocked by Naruto's reaction. He thought the blond would be happy that Neji would finally get his payback.

"Because you just can't! I don't want you to get hurt!"

"I won't get hurt, I've been dying to fight that arrogant prick, I won't allow him to lay a single finger on me."

"B-but you can't! Not even Itachi-san could beat him." Naruto sobbed. His blue eyes were brimming with tears. "I don't want to lose you!"

"So this is what this is all about?" Sasuke sighed. He lifted Naruto up and sat him down on his lap. He cupped Naruto's chin and guided his face up so he could look at Naruto in the eyes. "You're not going to lose me, I'm going to defeat Neji."

"How do you know that though?" Naruto sniffled. His tears were still falling freely as he gazed into Sasuke's obsidian eyes.

"Neji only beat Itachi because he cheated. He's no match for me. I will win and after I do I will come up to the balcony and give you a kiss to show you that you haven't lost me." Sasuke wiped the tears from Naruto's cheeks.

Naruto kissed Sasuke's lips, all he could do was accept his alpha's decision. He had failed.

* * *

The duel between Neji Hyūga and Sasuke Uchiha finally came two weeks later. All of Fire Country was in attendance. This was the re-duel of the century. Now that everyone knew of how the Hyūga family had cheated they all wanted to see justice served. Across the arena the Hyūga clan royals sat in a similar balcony as the Uchiha's balcony. Hiashi Hyūga sat beside Haku and his youngest daughter Hanabi. There was a noticeably empty seat beside Hiashi where Hinata would've sat if she had been allowed to come to the duel but because of what she had done during the last duel between Itachi and her bother, she was banned from going to a duel ever again. It was a great dishonor for a once highly respected princess.

Naruto was ten times more nervous than the last time he had been at the coliseum to see Itachi duel. Maybe it was because unlike last time, he was actually deeply in love with the Uchiha dominant whom was dueling.

"Take a deep breath, Naruto-kun! You look pale." Mikoto observed out loud. She held Naruto's hand and rubbed it. "Sasuke is strong, he will be fine."

Naruto bowed numbly, his mother in laws words went through one ear and out the other. All he could focus on was the figure of his mate standing down in the arena. Even though he knew this day would come he still wasn't ready for it. He had kissed Sasuke a hundred times last night and this morning but right now all Naruto wanted to do was go down into the arena and kiss Sasuke again and again and again.

"If you don't calm down my son will be too distracted to focus on winning, be a good submissive and control your emotions!" Fugaku barked.

Naruto nodded meekly. His father-in-laws words were harsh but they were true. If Sasuke sensed his uneasiness it might distract him and Naruto knew that all it took was one second to change the course of a duel.

"The re-duel between Neji Hyūga and Sasuke Uchiha will now commence!" The announcer shouted. "Sasuke Uchiha will be fighting in place of his elder brother due to Neji Hyūga's unfair win in the previous battle!"

The crowd cheered. The air was thick with excitement. It was choking Naruto. To all of these people this was just a fight between two powerful clans, but for Naruto this was a fight that could possibly take away the love of his life forever. Naruto wanted to close his eyes but it'd be a great sign of disrespect to his alpha if he did that so for the entirety of the duel Naruto would have to keep his eyes wide open.

* * *

Sasuke's blood was boiling with blood lust. He wanted to destroy all that Neji was. He was going to win this duel with out letting Neji land a single blow on him.

"I'm going to destroy you." Sasuke seethed as he walked slowly around Neji. His sharingan was spinning wildly.

"Hah, your brother had mastered the mangekyo and I still beat him, you'll be easy compared to him." Neji's hands were covered in a blue light, the appearance of two tigers glowed at the ends of his fist.

"You were no match for Itachi, my brother would've demolished you if you hadn't cheated!" Sasuke lunged at Neji and threw a succession of fireballs from his fist.

Neji managed to evade all of the fireballs except for one that had burned the edge of his white combat pants.

"You'll never be as good as your brother, he was under mind control when I fought him and he was still able to fight ten times better than you!" Neji laughed. "You'll never be the dominant he was!"

"Shut the fuck up!" Sasuke hissed, he added power to his flames until they they were both an intense red and hurled ball after ball at Neji. Neji's byakugan allowed him to see where the fire would land; he countered them easily with a blast from his lion fist.

Sasuke suddenly fell into a fit of laugher. His red eyes were trained up on the Hyūga balcony.

"What's so funny?" Neji glared.

"Oh, I just find it funny that you say I'll never be a good dominant but apparently I'm good enough for your submissive, look at him," Sasuke pointed up at the balcony where Haku was seated on the edge of his seat with his eyes focused solely on Sasuke. "His dominant is fighting and yet his eyes can only look upon me with lust." Sasuke smirked.

Neji growled. His features began to twist in anger but then suddenly stopped. A malicious grin feathered across Neji's lips. "It's funny that you say that, it seems both of our submissives would rather be with someone else, maybe we should trade? I'll get Naruto and you can have Haku, what do you say?"

"What are you talking about? Naruto would never want a dominant like you!" Sasuke laughed at the ridiculous idea.

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong, Naruto likes me so much that he showed me his body, it was ravishing." Neji grinned. "He almost let me fuck him the night of my wedding but some things came up, a shame really since he wanted me so bad he practically begged."

"Stop lying, keep my submissive's name out your mouth!" Sasuke growled.

"I'm not lying, I'm telling the truth." Neji's devilish grin broadened, "If I were lying how else would I know about the beautiful tattoo on Naruto's stomach? The way it circles around his navel is gorgeous-"

Neji couldn't even finish his words. Sasuke spewed fire from his mouth, it burned so bright that the crowd didn't even notice what had happened until after the flames settled and Neji was rolling around on the ground with half of his face on fire. Even as Neji rolled on the ground clutching his face in agony Sasuke didn't relent. He continued to breath fire at Neji and only stopped when a team of medics came rushing into the arena and carried the burning king away so they could attend to his wounds.

"Sasuke Uchiha is the winner of this duel!" The announcer shouted. "He has set a record, this is the first duel where the winner has managed to not receive a single assault."

The crowd roared with excitement. They all knew that they had just witnessed something others would never be able to witness in their entire lives. They had seen the infamous dragon fire technique of the Uchiha clan. It was rumored that only those with royal blood in their veins could perform the technique so seeing it was truly a treat.

Naruto jumped up in glee. He was so happy that Sasuke had won. He had worried for nothing, he felt so silly now, he shouldn't have been so terrified of Sasuke dueling.

He watched as Sasuke disappeared form the arena. A few minutes later he came striding into the balcony.

"Congratulations, Sasuke!" Mikoto cheered.

"You've done a good job of avenging your brother, son." Fugaku added sternly. The pride in his voice was thick.

Sasuke paid no attention to his parents. He went straight to Naruto.

"I'm so happy you won!" Naruto said delightedly, "I was worried that-"

"Did you show your body to Neji?" Sasuke hissed, cutting Naruto off.

Naruto didn't have to answer, the way he lowered his eyes in shame was more than enough of an answer for Sasuke.

"Why would you!" Sasuke roared. His handsome features were twisted with anger but buried deep in his eyes Naruto could see a dash of betrayal. Sasuke was hurt.

"I can explain, I only did it to protect you! Nothing happened!" Naruto cried. "I didn't want him to challenge you to a duel, I was so scared Sasuke!"

"Quiet your submissive! He's causing a commotion!" Fugaku ordered his son, he turned to Naruto with fire burning in his eyes, "and you, have some shame, you've already shamed us enough do you think my son will believe your lies?!"

"Naruto-nii did nothing wrong! He told me what happened that night!" Deidara cut in angrily. "Don't speak to my cousin so rudely!"

Fugaku quickly shut Deidara up with a sharp slap to his cheek. "I'll be damned if you think I'd let a submissive handmaiden speak out against me!"

Deidara fell to his knees. He clutched his cheek and glared up venomously at Fugaku.

"Honey, don't. There's no need for violence. Especially here." Mikoto cautioned apprehensively.

"No I've had enough of these Uzumaki submissives and I've had enough of  _your_ insolent behavior!" Fugaku yelled at Naruto. "Prancing around as if you were a dominant. There's a limit to how much you can get away with and this  _is_  the limit! You have shamed my son and clan in the worst way possible! I knew this was going to happen since my son lets you do anything you want!"

"Sasuke." Naruto whimpered. He expected Sasuke to stand up for him, for Sasuke to believe him, for Sasuke to know that he did what he did all for him.

"I...I don't want to be around you right now, I might do something I'll regret later. Take a carriage home with Deidara." Sasuke spoke without looking at Naruto.

Naruto cried silently. He bowed and left the balcony. His heart broke with each step he took.

* * *

Over the next couple of weeks Naruto hadn't seen Sasuke. Even when Sasuke had returned from the coliseum, he wasn't allowed to be by his husband's side. It was slowly killing Naruto inside. Every night he'd cry alone in the new room Sasuke ordered him to sleep in. Without Sasuke by his side Naruto felt isolated, he needed Sasuke. Sasuke was the sole source of his happiness.

Everyone in the Uchiha palace knew of the Uchiha kings anger with Naruto. They were never in the same room anymore; it was such a sad sight to see the usually bubbly blond submissive all alone. He'd wander the halls alone dressed in the most beautiful kimonos but the gorgeous clothing lost its shine due to the heartbroken look in his eyes.

It was now rare to see the once happy submissive smile.

* * *

The Uchiha family was gathered in their glass dining room. They were enjoying a calm breakfast, the glass walls of the room allowed them to enjoy the snowy landscape of outside.

Sasuke sipped at his hot tea from his teacup. His dull black eyes were focused straight ahead on the snowflakes falling lazily from the sky.

"You look distracted, sweetie." Mikoto commented. Her voice was filled with worry.

"Leave him be, Mikoto." Fugaku said boredly. "Let him enjoy his breakfast in peace."

"But he's been like this since the duel! Maybe it's time he-"

"Enough mother!" Sasuke yelled. "I don't want to be reminded of such things."

"Sorry." Mikoto said softly. She bowed her head. She was once again reminded that she no longer had the authority to tell her son what and what not to do.

Suddenly someone cleared their throat. The Uchiha's all looked up to the sound. Deidara was standing by the entrance. They could see Naruto standing nervously behind him.

"My cousin would like to join breakfast with you this morning."

"He already knows he's not welcomed-"

"Quiet, father."

Fugaku glared at his son.

"He may join."

Sasuke's approval shocked everyone. Even Deidara's eyes widened. He bowed and stepped aside so Naruto could walk in.

Sasuke watched as Naruto sat down in the empty seat across from him. He didn't know why he had allowed Naruto to join, he was angry but his dominant beast still craved Naruto. After weeks of not seeing Naruto he wanted to now.

"It feels so nice having you here with us again." Mikoto said happily, "I've missed seeing you." She brightened up.

"I've missed you too, mother." Naruto quaked in a quite voice. His blue eyes were lowered. His hands were folded demurely in his lap over his swollen belly. He was the perfect image of an obedient submissive. There was no more sitting in Sasuke's lap like he had used to.

Sasuke stared openly at Naruto. His powder blue kimono and the gold flower petals dangling in his hair were beautiful. He wanted to caress the soft looking kimono fabric that was stretched over Naruto's protruding stomach. He wanted to feel his mate and his child as well. He had missed Naruto.

Breakfast went on in silence. It seemed it would end without a hitch but then Naruto suddenly stood up.

" _Sasuke, please, I need you._ " Naruto pleaded brokenly in his mother language so that only Sasuke would be able to understand. " _I miss you so much, I can't sleep at night with out you by my side_."

Fugaku gawked at naruto's inappropriate outburst. Mikoto held onto her husband's arm so that he wouldn't be able to physically react as well.

" _Everyday with out you is agony, I can't be happy with out you_ ," Naruto continued. He had begun to cry; " _I crave your touch everyday, I pray to Kaguya every night that you'll look upon me with love like you used to!_ "

Sasuke wanted to scoop Naruto up into his arms and kiss his him until he stopped crying but his anger far outweighed his inner desires.

" _I can't, I just can't stand to be around you knowing that you allowed another dominant to touch you._ "

" _But I already told you I only allowed it so I could protect you!_ " Naruto sobbed. " _I would've never allowed him to if I had a choice_!"

" _I just can't Naruto._ " Sasuke said solemnly, he rose from his seat. " _This was a mistake, never ask to join in breakfast or any event with me for awhile, just looking at you has filled me with so much anger that I can barely stand it. Please, leave._ "

Naruto slumped his head down. It was useless to say anything, Sasuke's resolve was solid, he had already decided on his choice that day in the coliseum. No matter how much he begged and cried Naruto would never be able to sway him.

Naruto exited the dining room and went straight to his new chambers. He never imagined that an alphas anger could hurt this much.

A week has passed since that morning and Naruto hadn't seen Sasuke since.

* * *

" _Hello, Itachi-san_."

Naruto stared down at the sleeping face of Itachi. No response, as usual.

Ever since Sasuke had "banished" him he spent his time inside Itachi's room. He'd usually just watch the steady rise and fall of Itachi's chest but occasionally, whenever the thoughts in his head became too much to bear, he'd talk to Itachi like he was now.

" _Sasuke still won't let me see him so I came to talk to you today. I brought you some flowers again._ " Naruto took out the wilting flowers from the gold vase on the table by Itachi's bedside and set the bouquet of new red flowers into it. They were fire flowers, named for their unnatural red hue. They bloomed in abundance in the winter here in the Uchiha territory.

" _Dei-kun hates going outside with me in the snow just to gather flowers but he's weird. He puts up with the cold because he knows I only want the flowers because I'm going to give them to you_."

Naruto smiled. He sat down in the cushioned seat by Itachi's side as he always did. " _I feel bad dragging Deidara around all the time but I'm so lonely, Itachi-san_." Naruto's voice broke as a sob tore out of his throat, " _but you already know that don't you, Itachi-san_?" Naruto used the end of his kimono sleeve to wipe his tears away. " _I'm sorry for always unloading my sadness on you but I feel the most comfortable talking with you._ " Naruto sighed. He grabbed Itachi's cold hand to try and calm him self down. There was another reason why he came to see Itachi so often. When an omega is pregnant the amount of hormones they produce can easily suffocate them, it makes their moods irregular. Being around their alphas suppresses those hormones, not fully but enough so that the omega doesn't have to suffer. Since Sasuke and Itachi were blood related being around Itachi calmed Naruto's hormones down somewhat, but not as much as when he was with Sasuke.

"My hormones are drowning me, Itachi-san. I cry everyday I feel so pathetic." Naruto tightened his grip. His small hands shook at the force of his might. "I need my Sasuke back."

Itachi's handsome face stood unmoving. Naruto's pleas fell on deaf ears. But it didn't matter, Naruto didn't need a reply because it wasn't Itachi's voice that he wanted to hear at the moment, he wanted Sasuke's. He wanted to hear his mate call his name with the fondness he used to, he wanted to hear Sasuke's beautiful voice when he woke up in the morning and right before he went to bed...He not only needed Sasuke emotionally he also needed him physically. Without the constant affection from his alpha Naruto was suffering.

Naruto eventually calmed down. He let go of Itachi and with a little trouble he stood up.

" _I'll go now, I'll come back tomorrow like always, Itachi-san_." Naruto bent down and kissed Itachi's forehead. He fixed the flowers once more and then quietly left.

* * *

Naruto roamed through the Uchiha palace halls. He didn't have a destination. He just didn't want to be alone cooped up in his room. He had already visited Itachi for the day so he couldn't go there. All he could think about was his current predicament. It physically ached that his alpha was pushing him away. He loved Sasuke more than anything in the entire world, he hated that Sasuke thought he had willingly let Neji see him. Why didn't Sasuke understand that his body was all his? He didn't want anyone else! Sasuke wouldn't hear him out though…

Lost in thought Naruto stumbled on the long train of his kimono. He had been so focused on Sasuke he had forgotten to move the fabric aside as he stepped. He tumbled to the ground; he instinctually protected his stomach as he fell. He attempted to stand but his arms wobbled and he collapsed back onto the hard ground. Naruto groaned. His body had been feeling weak for the past week. It had been too long without his actual alpha at his side. It was like his body was giving up on him.

Naruto attempted to stand up again but then he unexpectedly heard the well-known sound of geta clacking against the marble floor. He pushed his body lower onto the ground and crawled to the corner so that the anonymous person couldn't see him. The sound of the clacking geta abruptly stopped and then a loud bang sounded out. Naruto craned his head around the corner to see what the person was doing. Naruto gasped and ducked down lower. What were  _they_  doing together? Naruto covered his mouth with his hand to quiet the sound of his labored breathing.

Sakura was standing pushed up against the wall. Sasuke had both of his hands on either side of her head and he was staring down at her. It was like they were having a special moment, lost in each other's eyes.

Naruto clenched his teeth in anger. The boiling rage of possessiveness surged inside of him. He saw red. He physically had to stop himself from walking over and clawing Sakura's face off. Something snapped in Naruto, the sight of seeing Sasuke with another submissive switched on Naruto's dormant rage. He could only handle so much pain before he snapped. He was done being sad; Sasuke was his mate, not anyone else's! As Naruto glared at Sasuke and Sakura he felt like he was on the verge of insanity. Sasuke had said he wasn't ready to forgive him but Naruto wasn't going to give him a choice.

Naruto scuffled back to the corner and calmly stood up. Sasuke and Sakura were so lost in each other that they didn't even notice his presence. Naruto bit his lips to stop the growl that was bubbling at the tip of his lips from coming out. He swallowed his anger and sauntered away before Sasuke and Sakura's moment could end.

He was going to get Sasuke back before the day ended.

* * *

Sasuke trudged angrily through the palace. He inflamed his fingertips with fire and threatened to burn a maid that was walking in his direction. Her dull eyes widened in fear as she quickly scurried the other way. Sasuke growled. He felt like killing anything that looked at him. He was still dwelling on Naruto. With out Naruto by his side their was no one to calm him down his inner beast.

"Has no longer being a princess transformed you into a complete stalker!" Sasuke barked. He turned around and pinned his sharingan on the pink haired annoyance that had been following him around all day long.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura gasped. "I didn't know you knew I was following you! I'm sorry." Sakura lowered her green eyes. She looked ashamed of being caught but this was probably exactly what she had wanted to happen. Sasuke was sure of it. "With everything that's been happening lately I just wanted to make sure that you were okay."

"It's not your place to be concerned about me so stop following!"

"-I'm just concerned Sasuke-kun." Sakura boldly closed the space between her and Sasuke, her eyes glimmered with false sympathy, "now that you and Naruto are no longer sleeping in the same bed, I don't want you to get all backed up." Sakura trailed her hand down Sasuke's chest as she rolled her body up against his.

She cried out when Sasuke roughly pushed her and walked away as if she hadn't just come onto him.

"Wait, Sasuke-kun, what's wrong!" Sakura ran after Sasuke. Her geta clacked loudly as she tried to reach her beloved ex-husband.

She stopped when Sasuke abruptly halted.

"Sasuke-kun why didn't you say anything, do you not want me to help you relieve yourself? I promise I won't-" Sakura gasped. Sasuke had trapped her against the wall.

Sasuke glared down at Sakura. What was wrong with this infuriating submissive for her to think he'd ever want to stick his dick back into her loose hole ever again? He stared down at her in utter silence. He pondered how he had ever thought that he'd ever be able to handle her being the mother of his children. He had thought that he'd eventually get over his children having her weak blood. In his foolish mind he had really believed that a life of having to put up with Sakura was the inevitable duty he had to do for his clan. Seeing her now, he now understood that he would've never lasted more than five years with her by his side.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura called out timidly after the silence grew uncomfortable. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"I should kill you right now." Sasuke murmured dully, he fingered a strand of Sakura's short pink hair, "I should cut off the rest of this wretched hair of yours and shave you bald, I should press your lips together and have them cut off." Sasuke yanked the strand of hair making Sakura whimper in pain, "do you have any idea how out of line you are? You're a maid offering herself to the master of the house in which she works in, do you not know that you just committed a federal crime punishable by death?"

"N-no! I didn't know Sasuke-kun! I didn't mean-I just-"

"Shut up!" Sasuke hissed, "I'm tired of hearing your nauseating voice and I'm sick of seeing your face in my palace every fucking day, If my mother wasn't so damn insistent on helping you I would've had you banished a long time ago! If I see your face again today I'll have you banished do you understand?"

Sakura nodded quickly. "Y-yes I understand Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried, she bowed and then ran off down the hall. Her loud sobs echoed as she disappeared around the corner.

Sasuke rubbed his temples. He had a throbbing headache; it felt like his skull was splitting in two. Normally if he was feeling this way his submissive would've calmed him down but since he couldn't stand to be by Naruto there was nothing Sasuke could do but get through it. He let out a long sigh. There was one thing he could do and that was taking a nice long nap. While he was sleeping maybe he'd find peace and solitude in his dreams. Sasuke continued down the hall and walked the familiar path to his bedroom. The lull of sweet unconsciousness carried him on.

Sasuke stared at the ornate double doors of his sleeping chambers. When he went inside no one would be waiting for him. He had grown so accustomed to Naruto always being there that now that he wasn't it didn't feel right.

Sasuke opened the doors and trekked into his darken room-wait...darkened? The lights were always supposed to be kept on. He had given the order to the maids that the oil lamps should always be lit at all times of the day. Was someone in his chambers? Sasuke walked angrily inside. He sniffed the air to see if he could catch a scent.

"Sakura?" Sasuke called. He wouldn't put it past her to pull off a stunt like this. A small part of Sasuke hoped it was Sakura just so he could make good on his threat and finally get rid of her.

"Don't speak that name in my presence ever again."

Sasuke stiffened. He knew that sweet voice anywhere. He melted a little; just hearing Naruto's voice momentarily calmed him down. "What are you doing here? I thought I told you I can't stand to be around you." Sasuke asked when his moment of calmness resided and his anger resurfaced.

A light suddenly illuminated the darkened room. As Sasuke's sensitive eyes adjusted to the light he saw Naruto sitting on the edge of the bed. His long blond hair fell straight down his back and he was wearing a single black robe.

"I'm not going anywhere." Naruto answered in a deadly whisper.

"Then I guess I'll be going then." Sasuke was put off by Naruto's defiance. It was unusual that his blonde not submit to him. Was it because Naruto had obeyed another dominant like Neji and now no longer felt that he needed to submit? The thought of Naruto submitting to another dominant reignited Sasuke's anger all over again. He turned to leave the room. If he stayed he was going to do something crazy.

When Sasuke neared the front of the door he heard a whooshing sound fly past his ear. He looked to the direction the sound went to. He was stunned to see a sharp silver kunai lodged in the hard wooden surface of the door.

"Why did you throw that at me?!" Sasuke hissed. He whirled around and all but felt his heart stop beating.

Naruto had taken off his robe. Underneath it he was wearing nothing but tight red lace panties and a matching lace negligee. The fabric was extremely sheer and Sasuke could see Naruto's pink nipples and half hard cock through it. The negligee had a split going up the middle so that Naruto's round stomach could poke through. The enticing sight made Sasuke's mouth dry.

"I'm not going anywhere and neither are you," Naruto turned around and got onto all fours. He raised his ass up in the air and arched his back, "because I know you can't resist this." Naruto wiggled his ass back and forth.

Sasuke's dick immediately hardened at the open display form his submissive. Naruto was craving him and Sasuke wanted to fill that craving for his love. Sasuke was ready to drop all of his pent up anger but then he remembered why he couldn't be with Naruto.

"Naruto, stop." Sasuke turned away from the tempting sight. Naruto was starting to emit his delicious aroused aroma. He felt himself growing weak to it. "If I smell Neji on you right now I'll literally go crazy. Leave before I have you removed."

"Leave?" Naruto hissed in a surprisingly fierce tone. The meanness of it once again caught Sasuke off guard.

Naruto stood from the bed and marched up to Sasuke. He entwined his small arms around Sasuke's neck. "I already told you I'm not leaving!" He pulled Sasuke down and forced their lips together.

Sasuke felt himself giving into the kiss. He had missed feeling Naruto's delectable plump lips moving against him own. He couldn't let this happen. Sasuke resisted his primal urges and repelled Naruto.

"I said no!" Sasuke bellowed.

Naruto dropped to his knees. Sasuke momentarily thought that Naruto was crying but then he felt Naruto's hands on his cock.

"What are you doing Naruto, I'm commanding you to stop!"

Naruto paid no attention to Sasuke's order. It took all of his might to not obey his dominants command. He freed Sasuke's dick from the constraints of his hakama to the open air and kissed the red tip of his alphas cock.

Sasuke shuddered. Naruto's lips on his dick felt a million times better than the kiss they had shared moments ago.

Naruto kissed the tip once more and then smoothly glided his tongue across the entire bulbous head.

"This is mine." Naruto hissed. He licked the entire length of Sasuke's dick and then pulled it up so he could lick the two balls nestled underneath it. "These are mine."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke groaned when Naruto sucked one of his balls into his warm mouth. Sasuke's will was wavering fast. Naruto's big blue eyes were focused up, intently looking Sasuke in the eyes. His thick thighs appeared plump due to the way he was sitting on his knees and his long blond hair swayed as he moved his tongue all around Sasuke's dick. Naruto's tongue was clumsy and inexperienced, the innocent naive way Naruto was handling his dick was a big part of the reason why Sasuke was so hard. This was Naruto's first time tasting dick. Or was it? Had Naruto learned this from Neji?! "Naruto, stop right now!" Sasuke cursed.

"I won't," Naruto stood up. He turned around and bent over. He reached behind him and pulled his lace panties half down so that the tight lacy fabric was wrapped around both of his thighs. He then grabbed both of his asscheeks and pulled them apart, revealing his glistening hole.

It was practically calling out to Sasuke. It was wet and pink, it looked so inviting. Sasuke's mouth watered. It was all his. All of it belonged to him. He'd kill Neji for even thinking he could ever have Naruto. He had been going about this the wrong way! He was punishing poor Naruto instead of the real culprit. Neji would pay with his life.

"You're mine!" Sasuke growled. He grabbed Naruto and carried him to the bed. He dumped him roughly onto the satin sheets and forced Naruto to face down with his ass up just like he had positioned himself earlier when he had tried to tempt Sasuke.

"Stay down while I taste you." Sasuke barked. He grabbed Naruto's thighs tightly and yanked his asscheeks wide open, exposing the pink rosebud again so he could see it.

Naruto's legs trembled when Sasuke's slick tongue lapped at his hole. This wasn't how his plan was supposed to go! He wasn't supposed to let Sasuke take control! But no matter how hard he tried to get away Sasuke's strong grip on his thighs was unrelenting. His tongue kept licking and sucking his sensitive hole. Sasuke's tongue suddenly darted inside of him, Naruto toes curled in ecstasy.

Naruto's entire body felt like a live wire, pleasure was circulating throughout him at a lighting quick pace. His mind was fogged with the intense pleasure Sasuke was giving him. It took all of Naruto's will power to not come. He couldn't yet. He had to execute his plan. He had to be slick about how he went about it, Sasuke was in full alpha mode, if Naruto said or did the wrong thing he could further his dominants anger with him.

"Sasuke wait," Naruto panted. "I want to touch you too."

Sasuke grunted and loosened his hold on Naruto's thighs. Naruto used this as his chance to get away. He closed his legs and quickly sat up to face Sasuke.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke flared.

Naruto said nothing. He pulled Sasuke's hand and gently pulled until Sasuke eventually gave in and sat on the edge of the bed. Naruto stood up and climbed, face forward onto Sasuke's lap.

Sasuke was alternating between rage that Naruto had disobeyed him and lust that Naruto had straddled him. Without even realizing it Sasuke found himself rubbing Naruto's thighs. The red lace panties were still wound around them and were digging into Naruto's thighs, making them bulge around the thin fabric. Naruto buried his head in Sasuke's neck as Sasuke rubbed up his thighs and then his large stomach. He sighed, loving Sasuke's touch on his body.

"I thought I understood why you were so mad at me, but-" Naruto lifted himself up and spread his ass cheeks, "I really didn't know why you got so mad at me when I did what I did in order to protect you," Naruto grabbed Sasuke's dick and wedged it between his spread cheeks, he rubbed it against his hole and shuddered in pleasure. "But now I understand, the pain of seeing your mate with someone else-the pain of even thinking about your mate with someone else- is excruciating." Naruto took a deep breath and pushed down, taking the entire length of Sasuke's dick inside of him.

"Naruto," Sasuke groaned. Naruto's entire weight was nestled in his lap. His dick was instantly cocooned in Naruto's addicting warmth, "now that you finally get why I was so angry with you, I don't want you to ever do something like that again, do you understand me?"

Naruto nodded.

"I'm serious, even right now I still feel uneasy, I'm holding myself back from attacking you."

"I know exactly what you mean." Naruto murmured heatedly as he thought of Sakura. He pushed his husband back onto the bed and buried Sasuke's cock deeper, hitting that certain sweet spot inside of him.

" _So big,_ " Naruto moaned. He had planned to completely take control and overwhelm Sasuke with pleasure so that he'd never stray to Sakura again but Sasuke's dick felt so good inside of him that it was incredibly hard to stick to the plan. With each passing second that Sasuke's dick was in him Naruto was losing the ability to think, his plan to take complete control over Sasuke seemed more and more unrealistic. There was nothing quite like the feeling of fullness of having Sasuke inside of him. Naruto wanted to feel this way forever. Naruto screamed when Sasuke abruptly began to thrust up into him, the ruthless fast thrusts were mind numbing. He collapsed onto Sasuke's chest and panted as the thrusts completely wiped away the last lingering bit of will power he had left. There was no way he could carry out his plan now.

"I'm serious, Naruto, if you ever let another dominant touch you again I'll kill him and I'll kill you."

"Yes!" Naruto moaned. Sasuke's thrusts were hitting that certain spot inside of him that always intensified his pleasure by tenfold.

Sasuke sat up, his dick was still buried deep within Naruto's ass as he picked him up and flipped their positions. He ripped Naruto's lacy panties off; Naruto's legs automatically fell open due to the constraint being gone. Sasuke stopped his thrusts, he loomed over Naruto and stared intensely down at the beautiful submissive underneath him.

Naruto's sweat soaked forehead, the way his hair fanned out on the satin pillows, his glazed over blue eyes, the way his legs were splayed open, his pink hard nipples poking up through the sheer lace of his negligee, his beautiful round stomach and the tattoo on it, the way Naruto took him all in, the way his legs trembled, the absolute lust in his eyes...Sasuke was in love with all of it and it was all his.

"I love you so much you make me feel fucking insane." Sasuke began his ruthless thrusts again; he wanted to imprint his scent deeply into Naruto so that other dominants knew to never touch him again.

Naruto's eyes watered at the intense pleasure, his cock slapped against his stomach each time Sasuke's dick pistoned into him. He was close; he could feel the tingling feeling gathering at the tip of his cock. An ancient urge to mark what was his was ringing in Naruto's ears. Naruto wrapped his trembling arms around Sasuke and pulled him down so that his lips were hovering over Sasuke's pale neck. He licked the spot right on the area over Sasuke's pulse point and then bit down hard.

Sasuke moaned. He felt blood dripping down his neck. Naruto lapped at the blood, healing the mating mark he had just given Sasuke. The coppery taste in his mouth heightened his pleasure. In his country giving a mating mark and then tasting the blood was the most intimate thing a submissive could do to a dominant. A dominants blood was considered sacred; allowing a submissive to wound them was the highest level of trust.

"Mine," Naruto panted as he continued to lap at the mating mark. His legs tightened around Sasuke's waist and he squeezed his eyes shut. The pleasure was too much. Sasuke's thrusts were so fast that all Naruto could feel was the heat every time Sasuke pulled out and reentered him.

"Sasuke!" Naruto cried out as he came all over his stomach. His entire body shuddered.

"Fuck," Sasuke grunted. Naruto had squeezed so tightly around him that it had made his orgasm approach much faster than he wanted. He tightly gripped Naruto's thighs and came inside his blond. He kept thrusting through his orgasm, pushing his seed deeper each time he drove his dick back in.

"There's so much," Naruto cried. The thick white substance was dribbling out the sides of Naruto's hole. Sasuke's dick made a squelching sound with each lazy thrust. The lewd noise made Naruto happy, it was audial proof that Sasuke had released his seed inside of him.

After a few minutes Sasuke pulled his dick out, he wanted to see Naruto's hole filled with his cum. He folded Naruto's legs back and enjoyed the beautiful sight of his cum trickling out of Naruto's stretched hole. It was still pulsating, trying to suck in dick that was no longer there. Once all of it came out Sasuke let Naruto's legs drop.

" _You're mine_." Naruto murmured as he licked the mating mark on Sasuke's neck. He felt weak, like a child who no longer had the energy to play. Naruto reached his hand between his legs and grabbed Sasuke's red dick, " _this is all mine, this is where my babies will come from._ " Naruto's eyes darkened, " _I promised to never let another dominant touch me, but if you ever touch Sakura or another omega again I'll kill you too._ "

Sasuke's dick instantly hardened.

"Fuck, you know exactly what to say to turn me on," Sasuke fingered out the remaining cum out of Naruto's hole and then plunged back in, "I never knew submissives could be this possessive," Sasuke thrusted deep into Naruto, "It makes me want to fuck you all day long, love."

" _Then do it_ ," Naruto pushed down on Sasuke's dick, taking more in. " _I'm all yours anyways, Sasuke can do as he pleases with me._ "

Sasuke smirked. "You're right," he leaned down and bit Naruto's lips, "I can."

* * *

Downstairs Mikoto and Fugaku were partaking in a quiet dinner. They hadn't seen their son all afternoon. The awkward atmosphere was amplified by the loud moaning echoing throughout the palace. The heavy scent of arousal wafted through the air and every so often they could hear their son's name being screamed. It had been going on for hours.

"Sasuke is too lenient on that damn submissive of his." Fugaku glared as he guzzled a glass of wine in one gulp. "He should've punished Naruto longer so he could learn from his shame! That submissive will be the end of him."

"But it's nice that Sasuke has made up with Naruto isn't it, honey?" Mikoto said happily. "I didn't think he ever would.

"I couldn't care less if he's made up with him or not, their relationship is meaningless to me all I care about is that baby inside Naruto. The shame he's bringing to our family will be worth it once that child is born."

"Excuse me Fugaku-san but should I go call Sasuke-sama down for dinner? His food will get cold if we wait any longer." A maid asked nervously.

"No, if you bother him right now he might kill you." Fugaku glowered. He knew exactly what state of mind his son was in. The weeks of having no sexual release with his submissive had sent Sasuke into a lust infused frenzy. If another person interrupted it could mean death for them. Fugaku didn't care about the maid's life but he didn't want his son to have a murder scandal when it was completely unnecessary and preventable.

The maid bowed and ran back to her post in the back of the dinning room with the rest of the maids. She glanced worriedly next to her where Sakura was standing. She could feel bloodlust radiating off of her. She prayed to Kaguya that if and when Sakura finally blew her fuse that she wouldn't be nearby to witness it.

* * *

 

**A week later**

"Hello Itachi-san." Naruto greeted cheerfully as he waddled into Itachi's resting chambers. "I'm sorry I haven't came to visit you lately, I've been too busy now that Sasuke is back in my life again. I didn't mean to completely stop visiting though, I've missed you." Naruto hummed as he threw away the now wilted brown fire flowers, "you know I've been thinking of finding a new kind of flower to bring to you. Rin told me that if I travel to the end of the border of Uchiha territory there's a black flower that shimmers in the moonlight. Since you're so fond of the color black I really want to get some for you." Naruto bunched the fresh fire flowers he had picked earlier with Deidara together and was about to put them into the vase when a gravely voice completely shattered the silence in the room.

" _Naruto?_ "

Naruto instantly dropped the bundle of flowers. Tears welted up in his eyes. It had been so long since he had heard that voice. He slowly turned around and immediately began to cry when he saw Itachi's two black eyes staring in his direction.

" _Itachi-san!_ " Naruto cried out. He threw his arms around Itachi and hugged him tight to his body. " _I didn't think you'd ever wake up, everyone said that you'd stay in a coma for the rest of your life. I'm so happy!_ " Naruto sobbed into Itachi's chest.

" _Naruto?_ " Itachi snaked his arms under Naruto and pushed up, effectively forcing Naruto to break his hold.

" _I can't believe you're really awake!_ " Naruto cradled Itachi's face in his hands. Naruto's amazement with Itachi's miraculous recovery made him oblivious to the quiet storm brewing in Itachi's dark eyes.

" _Naruto?_ "

" _Yes, Itachi-san_?" Naruto sniffled.

" _Tell me_ ," ten blue flames appeared at each of Itachi's fingertips. " _Who's the dominant who got you pregnant so I can kill him_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hIIIII guys oh my god it's been so long since I've updated! I'm so sorry ><  
> I wanna give a HUGE thank you to the readers who leave kind reviews you guys are amazing! I'm still not sure how to navigate this site so it's hard for me to reply but I read every single review!  
> I just wanted to let you all know that I will be posting a new Sasunaru mpreg fanfic on here! Please go check it out if you have the time <3 
> 
> see u all next chapter!


	11. My One and Only

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:Warnings: Violence, sexual situations, lots of blood...(: Enjoy!

"Naruto?"

"Yes, Itachi-san?" Naruto sniffled.

"Tell me," ten blue flames appeared at each of Itachi's fingertips. "Who's the dominant who got you pregnant so I can kill him."

Itachi growled. He attempted to get up but Naruto quickly stopped him by tightening his hold on the furious alpha's face.

"You're scaring me, Itachi-san." Naruto glanced down worriedly at the intimidating fire gathered at Itachi's lit fingers. "Please calm down!" Naruto let his arms drop after a few seconds when Itachi ceased his flames.

"Itachi-san, are you okay?" Naruto questioned hesitantly. He reached over and laced his fingers through Itachi's cold hands. The hands that he had thought he'd never feel moving against his again. "You just woke up, you shouldn't do anything that requires energy so soon." Naruto looked down at his and Itachi's joined hands as he spoke, unable to fully look Itachi in his eye. "Those kinds of questions can wait until Itachi-san is better."

Itachi's anger seemed to somewhat recede with Naruto's promise to explain.

"I've missed you so much, I'm so happy to see Itachi-san looking back at me with open eyes again." Naruto found the courage to look up, a small smile stretched across his plump lips.

For what seemed to be the first time Itachi truly looked at Naruto. Naruto's blue eyes were rimmed with tears and his pouty lips were wobbling slightly as he attempted to smile. He looked like a crying child, still so innocent looking and yet the proof of his marred innocence was displayed for the world to see. The child growing in his stomach could only mean one thing; another dominant had buried his seed inside Naruto. Itachi scowled. He wouldn't be able to wait until 'later'; he was far too livid to do that.

"How long have I been unconscious, Naruto?" Itachi murmured, hostility sizzling beneath his tone.

"It's been months, Itachi-san." Naruto answered cautiously. Itachi looked calm but he could tell Itachi was only putting on a calm face to pacify him. He could still practically smell the anger clinging to Itachi's scent; it was like the stagnant smell before a fire was lit.

Itachi ripped his hand out of Naruto's and raised it to the three red dots on Naruto's forehead. He rubbed at them as if he applied enough pressure the dots would miraculously erase away. Naruto was the sovereign of the Uchiha clan; the tattoo on his forehead clarified that clearly to him. Who had given Naruto the final dot in the center of his forehead? That was supposed to be his privilege to administer.

"So I've been asleep for months and I wake up to find my submissive pregnant with another man's child? How do you expect me to 'ask about it later', Naruto?" Itachi's eyes drained of its black color and turned bright red. The three tomoes in his eyes spun wildly. "Who was it that did this to you?" Itachi questioned in a tight tone.

Naruto bit his lip. He wrung his fingers together and looked about the room nervously. He couldn't say it. Itachi had always been such a strong alpha that even now, barely awake from a coma, Itachi still gave off a strong intimidating aura.

"Answer me, Naruto." Itachi commanded. The three tomoes in his eyes shifted into the unfamiliar design of the mangekyo. Naruto had never seen it in person before but he had heard about it. The mangekyo had abilities far above a normal sharingan. He knew when an Uchiha displayed their mangekyo that things were about to get serious.

"I-it's complicated Itachi-san!" Naruto clutched his stomach to form a protection barrier against the furious alpha's deadly eyes. The action only seemed to infuriate Itachi even more.

Itachi cupped Naruto's chin. He pulled Naruto's face forward until Naruto was forced to kneel onto the edge of the bed. "Complicated would be me waking up to find out that I lost the ability to use my eyes but this-" Itachi placed his hand over Naruto's that was still protecting his stomach, "this is a complete and utter betrayal. A complication wouldn't be what I'd call it at all. So I'm going to ask you again, who's seed was it that got you pregnant?"

"O-okay, I'll tell you." Naruto stammered, his fingers ached underneath Itachi's tight hold, "but first you have to promise me that if I do you won't kill him."

A furious growl tore out of Itachi's throat. It was a primal sounding yell that made Naruto's insides flutter with fear. His instincts were telling him to run but he couldn't. "The only thing that would stop me from killing whoever impregnated you is if you told me that the child inside you is mine and we both know that it isn't because the last I remember is that I left you completely untouched. Who did this to you? Who touched what was mine!"

Naruto had never seen Itachi like this. Since the day he had met Itachi he had always been perfectly composed. He was the quintessential perfect gentleman. Naruto could still recall how Itachi would always shower him with praises when he was young. The Itachi before him screaming with rage was so different than the Itachi Naruto had known that it was like Itachi had become a completely different person. He had heard of alphas going insane due to jealousy and this is exactly what he had imagined it like. He feared for his life. He was so scared that he was trembling; an alpha was naturally a being to be feared. An alpha didn't have to do much to frighten an omega-especially a pregnant omega. Naruto began to hyperventilate. The familiar feeling of not being able to get enough air into his lungs was creeping up and he hated it. He was terrified to even utter Sasuke's name. If Itachi killed Sasuke, Naruto's happiness in this world would cease to exist. Due to his pregnancy he didn't have the ability right now to physically protect Sasuke so if Itachi did go after Sasuke he wouldn't be able to do anything but watch as Itachi attacked his mate.

"Tell me!" Itachi yelled. He ignited his entire fist into a flame. The flame burned so bright that there wasn't a single trace of Itachi's signature blue flame within it.

Naruto sprung off the bed and cowered away from Itachi. "Please don't hurt me!"

Itachi's eyes widened. He took in Naruto's terrified appearance. Naruto's little body was hunched over into a ball. His small arms were wrapped around his stomach. He was trembling like a wet kitten and his eyes were screwed shut. He appeared fragile, the perfect image of a submissive protecting its child from harm.

Itachi sighed. He blinked his mangekyo away and then got off the bed. He kneeled down in front of Naruto and caressed the top of Naruto's head. "I'm sorry for yelling, enough crying, okay? I promise I won't kill him. Just tell me who he is, I think I deserve to know the name of the man who impregnated my betrothed."

Naruto raised his head. He hesitantly looked up at Itachi. Itachi's black eyes stared down at him. He appeared like his normally composed self. Itachi smiled and caressed Naruto's cheek. This was the real Itachi, the one he had always known. "Come, little one, tell me his name."

Naruto nodded. Itachi was going to find out eventually. It was better to tell him while he was in this momentary calm state. Naruto took a deep breath. "It's Sasuke-"

The second Naruto uttered Sasuke's name Itachi reflexively grabbed Naruto's hair at the back of his head and pulled back exposing Naruto's neck. He sniffed it and pulled away in complete disbelief. Now that he smelled it the scent that clung to Naruto was obviously his brothers...He should've known it was Sasuke when he saw the three Uchiha sovereign dots on Naruto's forehead. His father would've never let them be bestowed upon Naruto if Naruto hadn't been getting married to a royal Uchiha.

"Itachi-san?" Naruto murmured when he noted that Itachi was looking at him with an odd expression. It was like the old Itachi was slowly crumbling away and the new Itachi was taking over. "Are you…are you mad?"

"I still remember the way you shyly smiled that day five years ago when you first arrived here." Itachi's eyes were looking far off, past Naruto. "Your cheeks were so chubby and you were so little. Initially I didn't think I could marry someone so much younger than me but you were so refreshingly innocent. You were so naive about my intentions back then, every time you asked me to translate something for you you'd get so flustered and I'd find it absolutely adorable. Before I knew it I was in love with you. I was the one to ask my father in private if he could extend our marriage date because I wanted you to be of appropriate age when I had you. I waited those five years for you, and when you came back you were even more beautiful than I had remembered. I loved you more than I thought possible." Itachi's eyes came back to the present, he glared down at Naruto. The last remnants of the warmness of the old Itachi had completely dissipated. "Am I mad? What kind of question is that? Of course I'm mad! You we're promised to be mine since the day you turned ten! You were supposed to be my submissive, this child," Itachi roughly caressed Naruto's stomach, "was supposed to be mine. I loved you Naruto," Itachi's voice grew hoarse. If Naruto didn't know any better he would've thought that Itachi was staving off tears but he knew Uchiha men didn't cry. "I still love you." Itachi ran his thumb along Naruto's bottom lip. "Your adorable expressions, the way you so blindly depended on me whenever you needed clarification on what someone said, your stunning blue eyes-I fell in love with all of it and now I wake up to find that you have married my brother of all people? Why didn't you wait for me? I waited five years for you!"

Naruto looked away, Itachi's gaze was burning him with guilt.

"I didn't have a choice, Itachi-san. Your father was the one who came up with the idea to marry me to Sasuke-" Naruto was cut off suddenly when Itachi kissed him. Itachi's warm lips moved passionately against his, sucking the breath right out of him. Naruto closed his eyes. He was internally freaking out. He hated the feeling of another dominant's lips other than Sasuke's on his but he also felt extremely guilty. Everything that Itachi had said was true, he had indeed betrayed him in the worst way possible. He allowed Itachi to kiss him for a few languid seconds until he felt Itachi's tongue prod at his lips so that his tongue could enter his mouth. Naruto recoiled back. He put his hand on Itachi's chest to stop him from kissing him again. He felt like vomiting.

"Why'd you stop me? I thought you said my father forced you to marry Sasuke? That means you had no choice and you truthfully have longed for me all this time right?"

"Itachi-san has misunderstood me. Fugaku-san did indeed betroth me to Sasuke but I was entirely willing." Naruto pulled the high collar of his kimono down, exposing the spot where his neck met his collarbone. "I allowed Sasuke to mark my neck, he is my mate. I never wanted you to find out this way but I have always loved Sasuke. I'm sorry Itachi-san but for me Sasuke is the only alpha I want."

Itachi stared down at the bite mark on Naruto's neck. He touched it, his eyes unblinking.

"Mate..." Itachi's eyebrows drew together as his face scrunched into an unrecognizable expression. "Always loved him...?"

"Itachi-sama! You're awake!" A brown haired maid exclaimed from the doorway. The mountain of pillows she had been carrying fell to the floor. Her eyes widened even more when she realized that Naruto was also in the room and appeared to be terrified.

"Naruto-sama, are you okay?" The maid began to run to aid Naruto but before she could even take one step towards Naruto she was encased in flames. A single anguished scream tore out of her throat and then she fizzled away into a pile of ashes.

"Why did you do that!?" Naruto cried out. He reached his hand out towards the pile of ashes so he could scoop some of the dusty remains into his hands. "Rin did nothing wrong why did you kill her! She was my friend!"

"I'm only going to ask this once, Naruto. Take me to my brother." Itachi said hollowly, not even batting an eyelash over the fact that he had just killed an innocent girl.

"Why? What are you going to do to him? I won't let you hurt him!" Naruto screamed with all of his might.

The loud scream instantly attracted Naruto's personal guard.

"Naruto-nii what's wrong?!" Deidara came stampeding into the room. Two large clay birds were already floating in his hands, ready to be ignited. "Itachi-sama?!" Deidara exclaimed as he came to an abrupt stop. He was utterly shocked to see the once unconscious man out of bed. His heart fluttered seeing the handsome alphas face awake for once. He was so much more beautiful when awake, Deidara's thundering heart immediately calmed down when he realized that Itachi was the reason for Naruto's blood curdling scream.

"What are you doing to my cousin?" Deidara added energy to his clay birds, as they grew bigger they transformed into two big spiders. "Did you hurt him? Answer me!"

"Dei, get out of here!" Naruto yelled. "He's unstable right now, he might hurt you!"

"I won't leave you here alone!" Deidara yelled back, his blue eyes were filled with conviction despite the butterflies swarming around inside his stomach. "I was sent here to protect you even if that's from someone I don't want to hurt!"

Itachi glared daggers at the unknown yapping blond. The blond was dressed in tight black combat pants and a short yukata that had long swinging sleeves. His hair was long and tied into a half ponytail and his eyes were a watery shade of blue. Itachi had never seen him before, he had called Naruto his cousin though so Itachi summarized that the blonde was exactly as he had said-Naruto's cousin. This complicated things; he couldn't kill someone who was closely related to Naruto, even in his maddened mind he knew that. He used his sharingan to discern what the clay spiders the blond was holding were made of. "Impressive." Itachi switched is sharingan to mangekyo, it was noticed only by Naruto. "But useless against me."

"Dei, run!" Naruto screamed out at the top of his lungs but before his warning reached Deidara's ears Deidara had already dropped to the floor unconscious. His body was slumped over into a fetal position; his blue eyes were looking straight ahead, unblinking. And his mouth was hanging open in a silent scream.

"Now I'm going to ask you again, take me to my brother." Itachi commanded.

"I know what the mangekyo does; you're mentally torturing him right now aren't you! Stop it! Deidara doesn't deserve to be tortured just because of me!" Naruto sobbed brokenly. His tears made everything look like blurry blobs. The pile of ashes of what used to be Rin looked like a black smudge against the floor. Naruto moved to get up but Itachi held him down. " Why are you hurting the people I love? Stop, please just stop all of this!"

"Then take me to Sasuke."

"Why? So you can kill him!" Naruto pounded his fist against Itachi's chest, he hit as hard as he could but Itachi didn't even flinch. "What is wrong with you? This isn't like you! The Itachi-san I know isn't a cold-blooded killer! Who are you? I want the real Itachi-san back!"

"This  _is_  me. This is what you've turned me into. You've broken my heart, Naruto. You see, a dominants love for his submissive is irrational; it makes us do crazy things."

"So you'd kill everyone, even your own little brother just because of that? That's insane! Well I won't let you." The tattoo on Naruto's stomach began to glow white. New energy flowing through him rapidly like the last time when Neji had attempted to mount him. "I love you Itachi-san, you're very dear to me but I can't and won't allow anyone to hurt my alpha and that includes you!" Naruto produced a rasengan. He threw it at Itachi but Itachi easily dispelled it with a single look from his mangekyo. It fizzled down into nothing before Naruto even had the chance to throw it.

"You won't win, Naruto. And I won't fight you; a dominant that fights his submissive isn't worthy of being a dominant. Besides I could never bring myself to hurt you because even though you betrayed me I still love you." Itachi touched his fingers to Naruto's forehead. Naruto unwittingly looked up, at the same time his eyes locked with Itachi's. He instantly realized the error of his ways. He knew that you should never look an Uchiha in the eyes whenever their eyes were glowing red and he had done just that. Naruto wrapped his arms around his stomach as he felt his body going limp. The corner of his vision turned black, as his eyesight narrowed all he could focus on was Itachi's two glowing red eyes.

He had fallen right into Itachi's genjutsu. His last conscious thoughts were of Sasuke, hoping and praying that his mate would be safe.

* * *

 

Sasuke was exhausted, he had a slight headache, and it would be a couple more hours before he could crawl into his bed, where Naruto was waiting, warm and clingy and too far away at the moment. For now he had to deal with the headache inducing council meeting he was currently sitting through.

"I still think we should proceed with the current relationship status we have with the Hyūga's. Despite what Hiashi's children did we can't afford to terminate our alliance with them. The Hyūga clan has been our ally for centuries!" A balding gray eyed old man dribbled pompously. He was the eldest Uchiha royal in the Uchiha clan; he was an eccentric old man who usually spoke nonsensical things. His words were hardly ever taken into consideration but people still respected him. Sasuke didn't like him. He had heard many stories about the old man when he was a child. Supposedly the man had been a complete savage during the war. Whenever one of his fellow clansmen were slain down the man would gouge out their eyes and use them for his self. Rumor had it that the man still had the eyes and that they were all embedded in the skin of his arms.

"Danzo-san is right! We can't end our peaceful relationship with the Hyūga's. It's not like they actually killed Itachi-sama! They haven't done anything severe enough for us to end our relationship with them." A young councilman named Sai said passionately. He was new to the council; he had gotten in only on the good word of Danzo so he was always siding with the old man regardless of whatever crazy thing Danzo said.

"Have you all lost your minds? If we don't sever our relationship with the Hyūga's after all they have done to us the Uchiha clan will look like a bunch of easy fools!" Obito yelled incredulously. His haggard looking face had been set into a scowl all morning long. "This topic shouldn't even be under discussion!"

"I agree with Obito-san." Shisui spoke up. "In my opinion we should've severed our relationship with them the day Itachi-san lost the duel."

"Youngins like you only think about your stupid pride. We can't afford to lose our standing with the Hyūga's. They are our most powerful allies in times of war! We need to overlook the minuscule things they did! If we don't we may regret it in the future!" Danzo huffed as if he were an all-knowing god.

"Minuscule?" Sasuke raised his eyebrow. Everyone in the council room glanced at the Uchiha king. Sasuke stared past them and trained his eyes on Danzo's cloudy gray ones. "You consider cheating in a duel and putting my brother in a coma that he may never wake up from minuscule?" Sasuke's eyes slowly turned red as he glared at the old man.

"I didn't mean it like that, my lord!" Danzo quickly rectified, the sagging wrinkled skin of his jowls shook as he bowed hurriedly. "I just meant that-"

"You consider my submissive being physically assaulted and almost taken by one of those Hyūga dogs minuscule?" continued, not giving Danzo a chance to explain. "Your sight isn't the only thing that has left you in your old age, your pride has as well! The Uchiha clan doesn't need the support of a clan like the Hyūgas! If you think that we are so weak that we can't get by without the Hyūgas help then maybe you should go and join their clan instead!"

"My lord, forgive me. I could never defect form the Uchiha clan. I only spoke my honest opinion. We have already exacted fair revenge on the Hyūgas. Their princess is shamed and you have scarred their king's face with your flame beyond recognition. I've heard rumors that the right side of his face is nothing but scarred burnt skin now!"

"You consider that fair?" Sasuke laughed humorlessly, "Fair would be me gouging out Hinata's eyes and then burning Neji until his entire body is scarred from head to toe. Fair would be if I waited until his submissive got pregnant and then forced myself onto him! That would be fair! But fair isn't what I'm after. I have no intention of keeping the Hyūgas as an ally and it's quite clear that they don't intend to keep us as an ally either."

"What do you mean, Sasuke-sama?" Obito asked alarmed by the new revelation.

"Isn't it obvious? The Hyūgas have been planning on nullifying our treaty for a while now."

"My son is right." Fugaku intoned from his seat on Sasuke's right side. "I had my suspicions about them ever since Neji challenged Itachi to a duel. Neji is impulsive but he's not a fool. He understands his politics well. He would've never challenged Itachi to a duel if his father hadn't given him permission beforehand. I'm sure that Hiashi had instructed his son to challenge Itachi so that he could get Itachi out of the way. My suspicions were confirmed when Sasuke told me that Hiashi had found a submissive bride for Neji outside of Fire Country. The Hyūgas are planning on ending the treaty and will replace us with Mist Country. I suspect they desire to become the most powerful clan in all of Fire Country and with Mist backing them they could achieve that."

"So basically they've grown tired of our dominance of the North and now their trying to get rid of us by ending the treaty. Sounds like they want war!" Obito thundered.

"I-I didn't know that..." Danzo said dumfounded.

"That's because you blindly wanted to keep the Hyūgas as our allies you old fool!" Obito yelled.

"Don't talk to Danzo-san so rudely! Have some respect when speaking to your elders." Sai shot back.

"Quiet!" Sasuke slammed his fist on the table. A hushed silence instantly fell across the tense council room. He rubbed his temples to try and soothe away the headache that had been steadily developing all morning, "the bottom line is that our clan will sever the alliance with the Hyūga's. It is no longer up for debate."

Shisui and Obito discreetly bumped fists underneath the table for their victory.

"They probably think we don't know about their plan to end the treaty, which is good. We want to surprise them. We have to let them know that we know what their plotting but in a sly way."

"So I shouldn't write a letter to tell them the alliance is over then?" Obito questioned. It was his job as head commander general to issue all tactical declarations.

"No, we'll let them know the alliance is over in a more severe way." Sasuke grinned; he turned to Danzo, "Danzo,"

"Yes, my lord?" Danzo was stunned the Uchiha king had even addressed him after how he had reprimanded him earlier.

"I heard you like to collect eyes, is this true?"

"That's nothing but a rumor, my lord!" Danzo exclaimed animatedly.

"Is it true?" Sasuke pressed.

Danzo crumbled underneath the powerful gaze of the king. "Yes, it's true."

"Thought so. How would you like the opportunity to collect a new pair of eyes? These eyes aren't in your collection but they're every bit as valuable as the sharingan."

Danzo's ears perked up. "I...wouldn't be against the idea."

"Good. I want you to send your best man to collect the eyes of Hinata Hyūga. She possesses a powerful byakugan, which I'm sure you're interested in. After your man collects her eyes I want you have him bring them to me. After I verify that they belong to her I'll let you keep them."

"The eyes of the princess?!" Danzo blanked, his eyes crinkled at the corner as he moved his lips into a sneer. "I'd be honored to complete this task for you, my lord. But how will they know it was the Uchiha clan who did it?"

"That's the easiest part." Sasuke's feral grin immediately made his young face look chilling. "With the blood dripping from her empty eye sockets I want your man to draw a swirl on her forehead."

"But how would the Hyūgas know what that means, my lord?" Danzo asked stumped.

Sasuke's feral smirk widened even more. "Oh, trust me. Neji will know what it means the minute he see's it."

"Sasuke-sama, the way you're speaking it's as if you not only want to end the treaty but to actually start a war." Shisui observed.

"That isn't my intention but an inevitability. There's too much bad blood between our clans, the pendulum has been swinging in this direction for years I can't do anything to stop it but I can control the spot in where it lands and I plan on it landing with the Uchiha clan reigning supreme."

Three hours later the council meeting was adjourned.

Sasuke stood up stiffly and stretched out his sore arms. No matter how many council meetings he had to sit through it never got easier to get through them.

"You did excellent today, son." Fugaku said later on when he and Sasuke were on the carriage ride back to the Uchiha palace. "You were wise to not let that old fool disarm you." Fugaku clamped his hand over Sasuke's shoulder in a rare display of affection. Lately he had been content with the way Sasuke had been running the clan. It was a nice feeling since Sasuke thought his father wouldn't be happy with anyone else running the clan except Itachi.

"Thank you father." Sasuke murmured. He was glad his father approved but he wasn't really listening. His mind was preoccupied with thoughts of his sweet blond waiting at home for him. After a day like this Sasuke wanted nothing else but to be with Naruto and his calming sweet milk scent.

The carriage came to a stop in front of the Uchiha palace. As soon as Sasuke stepped out of the carriage he could feel something was off...the air felt stagnant with dwindling energy and the air smelled slightly of burnt flesh.

"What is it, son?" Fugaku questioned when he noted Sasuke's alert disposition.

"Do you smell that?" Sasuke activated his sharingan to scan the dark surroundings of the palace entrance. "It smells...odd in here."

Fugaku sniffed at the cold air. The hair on the back of his arms stood on end when he caught a strong whiff of burnt flesh. "Someone was incinerated in here today."

"There's another scent too..." Sasuke tried to separate the other strange scent wafting in the air but the overwhelming smell of death masked it. The other scent smelled familiar, it was an odor that he was fond of but hadn't smelled in a long time. Where had he smelled it before…

"Uchiha-sama, thank goodness you're home!" A maid came tottering into the room. As she came closer Sasuke could see that the back of her hands were burned. They looked like fresh burns too. Red and chaffed over with yellowed peeled back skin. She wasn't the source of the burnt flesh smell though; the scent smelled much more pungent from the second floor of the palace. The maid bowed hurriedly. "Your presence has been requested. I was ordered to take you to the room as soon as you arrived."

"Ordered by who?"

"I was told not to reveal that Uchiha-sama!" The maid flinched, ready to be reprimanded.

Sasuke was on the cusp of completely yelling at the insipid maid for refusing to answer his question but then his mother waltzed into the room. She had a foggy look in her eyes, like something marvelous had happened to her. She grabbed the maid's burnt hands and gestured for her to calm down.

"Listen to her, honey. A special someone is waiting for you. Just follow her."

Sasuke quirked his brow. What was happening and why did everything feel so...weird.

Fugaku grunted. "Just do as your mother says. It might have something to do with the horrid smell in here."

Sasuke had no desire to obey a maids orders even if his parents were telling him to do so but his curiosity about who the person was that had summoned him made him nod his head and agree. "Lead the way then."

The maid exhaled a sigh of relief. Sasuke could actually see half the nerves melt away from her round face. She turned and began to walk and Sasuke followed behind.

They stopped in front of sliding doors that lead to a tearoom.

The maid bowed. "This is as far as he ordered me to take you. Please enter when you are ready." The maid wrung his hands together and then turned to leave. She glanced nervously over her shoulder and when she saw Sasuke's red eyes glaring at her she broke into a sprint until she was completely out of the hallway.

Sasuke looked away and glanced back at the closed door. The other familiar scent that he had smelled earlier was overwhelmingly strong in this area. It was a warm scent that made Sasuke want to relax but there was also a dark energy mixed in with it that made Sasuke highly cautious. He slowly opened the sliding door; the tearoom was dark. There seemed to be only one candle lit and it was burning in the middle of a low tea table. Sasuke's sharingan easily adjusted to the dim lighting of the tearoom as he walked in. The scent was suffocating him; it was practically choking him. He scanned his eyes around the room and instantly halted when he caught two red eyes in the shadows.

Sasuke's heart all but stopped. Was that who he thought it was? He only knew one person who possessed the mangekyo.

"Itachi?" Sasuke called out skeptically. Had he just imagined his brother's mangekyo in the darkness?

A series of candles suddenly lit up, bathing the room in much needed light. The brightness instantly gave Sasuke the answer he had been wondering. He hadn't been imagining Itachi at all, his brother really was there sitting at the tea table. No wonder his mother had looked so overjoyed.

"You're awake!" Sasuke shouted joyously. He strode further into the room to give his brother a hug. He stopped when he saw something odd, a familiar shape lying on the floor. It was Naruto. His head was lolled on Itachi's lap and he was lying on his side. His eyes were closed and his pink lips were slightly parted the way they did when Naruto was in deep sleep. Itachi had his hand in Naruto's long loose hair. There was a strand of rubies and two red roses on the tea table, they were the same ornaments that Naruto had been wearing in his hair when Sasuke had left the palace that morning. Itachi's hand was stroking Naruto's hair repeatedly, as if he had been doing it for a while.

"Brother, when did you wake up? Why is Naruto asleep on top of you?" Sasuke tried to stitch the pieces of the puzzle before him together. Itachi was no longer in a coma but why did he still see bloodlust in his brother eyes? And how had Naruto fallen asleep on top of him? Sasuke refused to feel jealous; this was not an unknown dominant snuggling up with his submissive. It was his brother who had just woken up from a coma!

"He isn't sleeping. I put him in a genjutsu. He's been in it for about four hours now." Itachi said simply. Like what he said wasn't strange at all. "He's managed to break it nine times now so if I don't keep him like this I'll have to start over."

"Four hours?! He's pregnant, that's dangerous! Stop the genjutsu!" Sasuke tried to keep the anger out of his voice. His brother was awake after so long, he didn't want their reunion to be marred by anger but what was Itachi thinking putting Naruto under a genjutsu when he was pregnant! It could hurt Naruto and their child!

"If I do that then I'll have to start all over again." Itachi's eyes were devoid of emotion as he spoke. Like he was talking to a thing that wasn't worth his time.

"Start what all over again? You seem different Itachi, are you okay? What are you doing to Naruto?"

"Oh, I'm perfectly fine." Itachi's lips twitched up, "I'm just doing what has to be done. I'm rewriting his memories."

"What do you mean rewriting his memories, you're not serious are you?"

"I'm dead serious, little brother. I'm filling his mind with one long genjutsu that will replace all of his memories after my duel with Neji. He keeps fighting me though, every time he manages to break the genjutsu I have to start the memories all over again. He's strong for a pregnant submissive but I suspect it's mainly because of this-" Itachi lifted Naruto's kimono.

"Don't undress him!" Sasuke made a move to cover Naruto back up but Itachi's hands moved too fast. He had already bunched the multiple layers of the kimono over Naruto's round stomach, exposing Naruto's naked belly and legs to the lit room.

Sasuke instantly understood what Itachi was talking about. The seal snaking around Naruto's navel was glowing a luminescent white color.

"The Uzumaki clan is more amazing than anyone realizes. They're smart, these seals on their royal submissives aren't only an indicator of status but it seems they also double as a personal guard for when a submissive is carrying a child. Since Uzumaki's are known to sire gifted offspring other clans usually target them. They don't want anything to happen to these offspring especially if that offspring has noble blood so they infuse these seals with protective energy that only awaken once the submissive is pregnant. It's genius. Or at least it is against other clans who don't posses Uchiha ocular abilities. This seal," Itachi lazily traced the seal pattern with his finger, "is easily controlled with my mangekyo."

"Enough of this Itachi!" Sasuke shouted. "Stop the genjutsu you have casted on my submissive and stop acting like this! You sound crazy!"

"I'm almost done, little brother. I'm on the last day. When Naruto wakes up he'll no longer be your submissive. He'll be mine." Itachi cracked a wry smile. The displaced smile on Itachi's face infuriated Sasuke; his brother didn't smile like that. This man was just an imposter disguised as his brother!

"You bastard. Who the fuck are you and where the fuck is my brother!" Sasuke grabbed Itachi by his collar and pulled him up. Itachi stared up impassively.

"I am your brother. The only thing that has changed is that I now know what betrayal feels like." Itachi sneered coldly.

Sasuke glared down at Itachi's "face". His mind conjured up the image of his brother from five years ago. Back then his brother had been his entire world. Itachi had been first in line to inherit the throne his whole life and still managed to remain humble. His brother hated showing off excessive wealth and believed that respect for everyone, no matter his or her status was a rule everyone should follow. While growing up he had looked up to Itachi more than he did his own father. This snarky man sneering up at him wasn't that same Itachi that Sasuke had idolized all through his childhood.

"Stop lying and give me back my brother!" Sasuke screamed. He balled his fingers into a fist and swung back, punching Itachi right in the jaw. Itachi sat up and grinned. His eyes were now jet-black.

"That hurt, little brother." Itachi feigned a hurt expression.

Sasuke didn't understand. Why was Itachi acting innocent now? A loud scream resounded through the tearoom and in that second Sasuke instantly understood. Naruto had woken up.

"Sasuke-san why did you do that!?" Naruto glared at Sasuke as he stood up and cradled Itachi's injured face in his hands. "I know he's your brother but I'm going to have to ask you to never hurt my alpha like that in my presence ever again!"

"Naruto what are you talking about I am your alpha." Sasuke pulled down his collar and showed Naruto his mating mark. "Itachi just had you under a genjutsu so you think he's your alpha but he's not I am. You gave me this mating mark remember?"

Naruto's face burned red. He swiveled his head away from Sasuke's displayed neck and buried his head in Itachi's neck. "Sasuke-san whatever you and Sakura-chan do in the privacy of your bedrooms is no concern of mine! Please don't show me such intimate things!"

Sasuke's eyes bulged. "Sakura?!"

"Yes, your wife and future mother of your child remember Sasuke. Or at least that's how it was during my duel so that's how Naruto remembers it." Itachi said passively.

"What have you done!" Sasuke hissed. The reality of the situation was settling in. He didn't think it was actually possible for Naruto to forget him, genjutsu or not. He had thought that Naruto's love for him was too deep to be uprooted by a genjutsu. "Change Naruto back or I'll fight you." Sasuke wouldn't just hand over his submissive so calmly just because Itachi was his brother.

"Fight me? Naruto is my submissive. You can't fight me for something that already belongs to me." Itachi's fingers glided across Naruto's cheek, under his chin, and stopped at the deep bite mark on his neck. "I'm the one who gave you this mating mark, right Naruto? Tell my brother when I gave it to you he seems to have forgotten."

Naruto blushed. He placed his hand over Itachi's on his neck. "Itachi marked me on our wedding night, he was very gentle and loving-but I don't see how that's any of your business Sasuke-san!"

"I'm the one who gave it to you on our wedding night! Don't you remember, love?" Sasuke said in a forced placid tone. He was losing his ability to remain calm; the scared look in Naruto's eyes as he looked at him was a look Sasuke had never received from Naruto before. It really was as if Naruto didn't have the faintest idea of what he was talking about.

"He's just joking, Naruto." Itachi reassured the confused submissive.

"Oh, I see." Naruto forced out an airy laugh, Sasuke knew from experience that Naruto only laughed like that when he was uncomfortable. That laugh had also never been used on him. Itachi stood up and helped Naruto to stand as well. "Come Naruto, let's retire to our sleeping chambers. It seems my brother isn't feeling well tonight."

Naruto nodded obediently. "Please get some rest tonight, Sasuke-san. I've never seen you act so strange, it's a little terrifying."

"Wait!" Sasuke grabbed Naruto's arm and pulled him against him self. "Your mind might not remember me but your body will!" Sasuke cupped Naruto's chin and pulled Naruto into a kiss. Naruto pushed against him, Sasuke flicked his tongue against Naruto's bottom lip the way he knew he liked it. Naruto's body suddenly grew compliant. He relaxed and unconsciously kissed Sasuke back with equal vigor. The kiss had been going on only for a quarter of a second but Naruto's body had already started to remember. Exactly half a second in Itachi roughly pulled Naruto away.

It was too late; Naruto's body was enveloped in a bubbly red substance. Sasuke remembered seeing it the morning after their wedding night when Naruto had used it to heal his legs, which had lost feeling due to the excessive amount of times they had fucked. Naruto had said it was a healing chakra infused in his seal that was supposed to only be used during pregnancy. It had the ability to undo or rectify Naruto's body to a normal state, which also meant that it had the power to undo Itachi's genjutsu.

"Sasuke!" Naruto screamed desperately as some of his memories came flooding back to him. Sasuke's heart melted with relief. Naruto was back to looking at him with love in his eyes the way he always did but just as Naruto's eyes began to clear up they rolled to the back of his head. He collapsed into Itachi's waiting open arms.

"Now I have to start all over again." Itachi sighed.

"As if I'll let you!" Sasuke ignited his fingers into flames. He pointed them at Itachi. "Fight me."

Itachi laughed dryly, "you may be king of our clan now but I'm still stronger than you, little brother. Put those out before you make me hurt you."

"Being in a coma has not only turned you into a monster but it's also made you stupid, brother." Sasuke glared, "a dominant will die in order to protect his submissive. I'm willing to do exactly that for Naruto so fight me!"

"What happened?" Naruto's eyes fluttered open. He blearily took in his surroundings. He hissed when he saw Sasuke's fire tinged fingers pointed at Itachi.

"Don't you dare hurt Itachi!" Naruto stood in front of Itachi and glared at Sasuke. He bared his teeth menacingly.

"Naruto?" Sasuke could literally feel his heart breaking. He knew it wasn't really Naruto protecting Itachi but it still hurt to see Naruto get possessive over another dominant. Sasuke dropped his hand. He wouldn't be able to fight Itachi while Naruto was brainwashed like this. He'd either have to get Naruto alone and break the brainwash or wait until Naruto wasn't nearby so he could challenge Itachi without having to worry about Naruto getting involved. Both scenarios seemed unlikely because he knew Itachi would never let Naruto leave his side now that he knew that all it took to revert Naruto's memories back to normal was a kiss.

Itachi wrapped is arms around Naruto's waist, he cupped Naruto's pregnant belly. He whispered something into Naruto's ear. Naruto nodded and then looked at Sasuke directly in the eyes. Sasuke looked away, he couldn't stand the wary way Naruto looked at him.

"Itachi told me you guys were only joking so I'm sorry for overreacting Sasuke-san. It's the hormones." Naruto blushed embarrassed. "What can I say, Itachi's baby inside me makes me act crazy sometimes!"

_Itachi's' baby?_

Sasuke couldn't take anymore. Naruto was his submissive and that child inside Naruto belonged to him.

"Do you think mother and father will allow this?" Sasuke said suddenly remembering his parents, they were his last resort to rectify this bizarre situation. "Or the priest who performed my and Naruto's ceremony? You can't cast a genjutsu on everyone. Every one knows Naruto is my submissive."

"Naruto go to our room, I'll be there shortly. My brother and I need to have a discussion."

"Okay, be careful. Don't take too long." Naruto tiptoed and gave Itachi a farewell kiss. He gave a warning look to Sasuke and then left.

Sasuke wanted to follow after Naruto and kiss him just to end all of this already but he couldn't. Not until he dealt with his brother.

"Do you think I haven't thought of that? I admit I didn't have time to plan out every single step of my plan since I came up with it out of anger but I already have most of it all worked out."

"You're smart Itachi but not even you could plan anything to get away with this. You and I both know that stealing a dominant's submissive is against clan law. They won't let you do this."

Itachi smirked. "Funny how that clan law works, huh? I've been thinking about it and I've realized something. You broke that law way before I ever did. You stole my promised submissive away from me. All I'm doing right now is taking back what I stole. I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to convince mother and father to see things my way but once I do I can't imagine it'll be that hard to convince the council and priest."

"He's already pregnant with my child! No one will see him as your submissive anymore! When you fell into a coma you hadn't even bedded him yet, you had no claim! He was only promised to you but he was never yours!"

"I'll fix that tonight then won't I?" Itachi smiled. "Oh, don't give me that panicked look, it's only fair, little brother. I waited years for him."

"Don't do this," Sasuke suddenly said, completely out of options and utterly desperate, "I love him brother, he's carrying my child and he's my sovereign. I love him like I've never loved another submissive before. I'm begging you, if there's even a trace of the old Itachi in there then don't do this."

"A trace of the old Itachi?" Itachi chuckled; it started out low then grew into a hysterical laugh. "What does that even mean? There is no such thing...I am the only Itachi."

* * *

 

Hinata Hyūga arched her back as the dominant on top her pistoned his dick in and out her at a lighting quick pace.

"Yes! Yes!" Hinata cried out. She buried her face into her silk pillows to quiet her moaning. Her pale thighs trembled as the dominant's balls slapped against her sensitive slit.

"You're so fucking cute, Hinata-chan!" The dominant came with a quiet grunt. He pushed his seed in and out and only stopped when Hinata stopped trembling. He rolled off of the panting submissive and reached for the cigarette on the side table as he always did. He lit it and took a long drag, exhaling out like he had just conquered the world.

Hinata sat up and laid her head on the dominants naked hairy chest. She sighed as she relished the feeling of his release slowly coming out of her.

"If your father ever finds out that you're sleeping with your guard he'd kill me." The dominant chortled throatily.

"But that's part of the fun." Hinata pulled the cigarette out of the dominant's hands and took a long drag. Her pale eyes watched the smoke billow around, mixing in with the heavy smell of sex in the room.

"You act so innocent that when you first asked me to bed you I had thought you were joking." The dominant barked a laugh, he snaked his hand down and grabbed Hinata's most intimate area between her legs. It was still wet and pulsating, he pressed his hand hard up against it until Hinata let out a whine, "but who knew the Hyūga princess was such a needy slut!"

Hinata's eyes fluttered closed. She rubbed herself against the rough hand. "I'm not a slut, I just have needs!"

"How do you hide this side of yourself from your family? They must smell the change in your scent?" The man jerked his hand against Hinata's clit. She moaned and moved her hips faster.

"I bathe daily in purified water infused with heavy perfumes. I also take herbs to balance my scent. It's not hard to hide though since my father doesn't even think I've ever had a dirty thought before." Hinata bit down on her lip, "rub harder!" She thrusted her hips harshly when she felt the rubbing stop altogether.

"Hey, I said rub harder, stop teasing me!" Hinata cracked her eye open. She sat up when she didn't see the dominant on his side of the bed.

"Looking for him?" A foreign voice spoke.

Hinata quickly looked in the direction of the voice. It came from the shadows in the corner of her room. She couldn't make out his features but she could see he had two coal black eyes; they reflected the moonlight made his eyes appear silver. He was holding her guard by the neck and had slit his throat with a kunai. "Sorry I killed your lover." The man laughed. He let the guard drop to the floor as he slowly stepped out of the shadows.

"Who are you!" Hinata screamed. She grabbed the cover and covered her nude body in shame. "Get out at once!"

"You're in no position to order me around Hinata-san." The man laughed. "I just killed your guard and no one is around right now to hear you. You made sure of that before you started your little hump fest with your lover didn't you?"

"N-no!" Hinata denied hysterically.

The man was fully out of the shadows now. Hinata could now see that the man was wearing a strange dragon mask and was dressed head to toe in black.

"Who are you? What do you want? If it's money I have plenty!" Hinata ripped off the diamond necklace around her neck and threw it at the man, "here take whatever you want and go!"

The man's eyes crinkled into what looked like amusement. "I don't want any of that, I came for something much more valuable."

The man stepped closer.

"What?" Hinata scooted back until she was pressed against the headboard. Her heart was pounding in her chest.

"Your eyes." The man descended upon Hinata before she could even scream. He tore her eyes out of their sockets; blood immediately spurted out. The red liquid gushed down her pale cheeks and into her open screaming mouth.

"Ahh! What the hell did you do to me!" Hinata wailed in pain. She touched desperately at the holes where her eyes had just been.

"Oh yeah I almost forgot." The man dipped his finger into Hinata open bloody eye socket. He took his coated finger and drew the swirl design on Hinata's forehead just as instructed.

"Have a good day, princess. Sorry I intruded during your private sex session." The man laughed and then left the same way he had entered, out the window and into the dead of night.

"Someone help me!" Hinata yelled. Her hands were over her eye sockets trying in vain to stop the excessive bleeding.

It wasn't until minutes later that two guards strolling by heard the princess's screams for help.

"What is it Hinata-chan?" The guard halted at the bloody sight of the naked princess.

"Help me!" Hinata screamed, blood was oozing out of her eyes and dripping out of the sides of her mouth. The excess blood splattered onto her pale naked breasts and into her navel.

"Go wake Neji-sama, he has to see this!" One of the guards ordered. He scanned the room to check for any sign of the perpetrator who had harmed the princess. He only found a slain guard lying on the floor."Hurry!" The guard yelled.

The other guard ran out the room. A few minutes later he came running back in with a very sleepy looking Neji. The sleep immediately left Neji's white eyes when he took in the sight of his little sister.

"Who the fuck did this to you?!" Neji roared. Tears instantly began to fall from his eyes. The gruesome image of his sweet little sister defiled and bloody was too much. He took off his sleeping robe and draped it over Hinata's naked trembling shoulders.

"Don't just stand around! Go get the fucking medics before my sister dies of blood loss!" Neji hissed.

"Yes, your highness!" The two guards hightailed it out of the room to do as told.

"Neji-niisan, it hurts so much!" Hinata sobbed.

"I know, shh. Big brother will make it all better very soon." Neji sat on the bed and hugged Hinata to his chest. He gritted his teeth when he saw the fresh cum smeared between Hinata's thighs. Whoever had did this to her had also had the audacity to rape his precious little sister. "Who did this too you, Hinata? Tell big brother so he can make them suffer."

Hinata shook her head. "I don't know! He was wearing a mask! It all happened so fast!"

"It's okay." Neji cooed, "don't hurt your self trying to remember, I'll find them anyways and kill them." Neji bent down and moved to kiss Hinata's cheek but as he bent down he came face to face with something that he hadn't noticed before. He pushed Hinata's bangs off her forehead so he could get a better look at the odd bloody marking on it.

A swirl...it looked familiar...he had seen it before but where? Out of nowhere it dawned on Neji where he had seen the swirl before. It was just like the one around Naruto's navel!

" _Uchiha_." Neji cursed the name. "Don't worry, big brother will kill the dominant who did this to you. I'll hurt his most precious possession." Neji kissed the bloody swirl on Hinata's forehead. A kiss of death. His sister was beyond ruined; she'd never be the same submissive again. He'd definitely return the favor to the Uchiha's precious submissive. He'd have to find a way to get into contact with Sakura again, it'd be difficult but once he did Uchiha could kiss his pretty blond 'omega' goodbye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guyssss thank you for sticking with this story! & for all the love & kudos! I'm not used to getting so many comments on this story so every time I get one I get stupidly happy xD  
> Sorry for the angst but we are reaching the final stretch of this little story of mine >.<


	12. Something Strange

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: the usual, beware the angst!

"What's wrong, little one?" Itachi cooed to the solemn looking submissive.

Naruto was laid out over the satin sheets of Itachi's bed. Despite the slight chill in the night air he hadn't gotten under the covers yet. The pretty blond submissive had dressed into a sleeping robe and was now balled up in the corner of the large bed. His hair was fanned across the shiny black fabric of the pillow and his arms were wrapped around his protruding stomach. That's how Itachi had found Naruto when he had entered the room. He had boasted to Sasuke that he'd "have" Naruto but the blond had been contained in his own little bubble since the moment itachi had stepped into the room. It was clear that Naruto wouldn't be putting out unless forced or coaxed. Itachi hadn't accounted for this turn of events. He had really thought that once he used his mangekyo on Naruto everything would revert back to how it was before he fell into a coma. _Of course not, you crazy fool!_  The rational part of his mind yelled out but Itachi was too intrigued by Naruto's solemn state to actually notice or pay the voice any mind.

Itachi sat on the other corner of the spacious bed, he positioned his body so that he was openly facing Naruto in a welcoming gesture but the blond didn't budge. He kept to himself in that little bubble of space he had made between his self and Itachi, it was as if Itachi wasn't even there. Itachi bit back a growl. His newly fractured sanity was hanging by a thin thread and an unresponsive submissve wasn't helping it out in the least. It'd be so easy to invade Naruto's bubble and forcibly make the blond address his presence but the little rational Itachi had left wouldn't allow him to do that. Naruto was precious and even in his crazed state he knew better than to lay a hand on a pregnant submissive.

"Come, tell me what's wrong? Are you worrying about what just happened with Sasuke? My brother just had too much to drink so don't let those lies and nonsense he spouted bother you."

"It's not that." Naruto mumbled then hunched his shoulders even more forward, making himself into a complete ball.

"Are you cold? Are you hot? Do you want to take a bath? I don't know what to do if you don't speak to me." Itachi scooted closer to the strangely quiet submissive but as soon as he did he noticed that Naruto had subconsciously moved his body away. It stung his ego. He had never been rejected so openly by a submissive before. His crazed mind immediately wanted to hurt Naruto for the rejection, to burn the blonds soft skin until he learned how to behave but again the rational Itachi knew better than to actually do that.

"Sorry, Itachi." Naruto murmured apologetically. His eyebrows drew together making him look sympathetic. "I don't know what's wrong I just don't feel...right." Naruto bit his lip, these words had been dancing on the tip of his tongue for a while now, "I sound crazy don't I?" Naruto rapidly shook his head as if he could get rid of his foolish feelings with the erratic action.

"You don't sound crazy," Itachi came closer to Naruto, the small omega allowed it but the hesitant expression on his face remained. He wanted to move away and it was obvious, his body language spoke volumes. The way his body was angled away from Itachi and the way his hand was protectively over his pregnant stomach were all signs of an uncomfortable submissive. "I won't think you're crazy if you just tell me what's wrong." Itachi took an even breath, the urge to forcibly pull Naruto closer was tingling underneath his skin. He could imagine it so clearly, pulling Naruto so hard that he left a bruise behind.

Naruto let out a big sigh, he looked down and rubbed his hand over his mating mark, "I-I don't feel right," Naruto admitted in a small voice, so low that itachi had to strain his ear to hear it, "I feel like I'm missing something but I don't know what, even lying in this bed feels...wrong." Naruto began to cry, the salty smell of tears swirled through the air, "I feel horrible saying this because I know Itachi is my mate and has given me so much including my baby but I still feel incomplete...I'm so sorry for thinking that but i really feel incomplete!"

"Hush," Itachi whispered heatedly into Naruto's ear, his restraint snapped momentarily as he wrapped his arms around Naruto and crushed him against him self. He had hugged Naruto a bit harder than he had expected, he could hear the boys back bones crack underneath him. It was his inner beast coming out. A natural ignited response to his submissive telling him something so insulting.

"Oww, you're hurting me!" Naruto cried out as he pushed itachi off of him. Naruto's eyes widened when he realized he had just physically repelled itachi, even though itachi had hurt him pushing away your alpha so rudely was just something submissives weren't supposed to do. In Whirlpool it wasn't a serious issue but he knew that Fire Countries rules for omegas were far stricter than in his home country. "Sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine, Naruto." Itachi said through gritted teeth, "I'm the one who's sorry." Itachi apologized not sounding sorry in the slightest. Unbeknownst to Naruto Itachi was trying to reign in his own emotions. Naruto physically pushing him away had awoken an old emotion inside him that had been buried under the weight of the betrayal but he quickly repressed it back down. He refused to feel guilty, the only one who should feel guilty was his foolish little brother. "What do you mean something feels like it's missing?"itachi asked the obvious question, of course he knew what Naruto was talking about. It pissed him off. If Naruto was supposed to be his betrothed then why was it taking so long for Naruto to forget about the bond he had made with Sasuke! Surely Naruto couldn't have been completely serious when he had said that 'Sasuke was the only alpha he wanted as a mate.' He had assumed that was just Naruto's hormones speaking, it was expected that Naruto would say that since Sasuke was the father of his child. Every submissive grows excessively attached to the dominant who impregnates them so naturally itachi had assumed that was why Naruto had said that but as time was ticking by he was learning that maybe there was some rational truth behind Naruto's confession. It felt as if Naruto had actually fallen in love with his brother.

Naruto buried his face in his hands, he didn't like that he had angered his alpha but he couldn't help it. There was something wrong and he just knew it. It is a known fact that once an omega finds a mate and they mark each other the mark forms a bond. This bond allows them to connect emotionally on a deeper level than with anyone else. But as Naruto lay there he could feel nothing for his 'mate'. He could feel absolutely nothing and that was terrifying him. Their bond was missing, that primal and instinctual connection had vanished and the even scarier part was that he couldn't recall how it even felt like. It was as if the connection had never existed in the first place, but that didn't make any sense! Naruto mentally berated himself, that couldn't be possible because he had Itachi's mating mark on his neck! He could vividly remember itachi giving it to him...so why couldn't he feel their bond?

"I feel like our mating mark connection is disappearing...it's so weak it's scaring me." Naruto finally admitted the source of his withdrawn state out loud.

A relieved smirk slithered its way onto Itachi's face, he had thought the blond had found a new way to restore his old memories, it would've been much harder to deal with that compared to a weak bond. A bond that the blond wasn't even aware didn't exist. Itachi would quickly remedy that. "A weakening bond is easy to fix, little one," really, he had to give credit to his little brother. For Naruto to realize something was off after so many bouts of using the mangekyo to erase his memories meant that the mating mark Sasuke had given Naruto was rather strong. He hadn't accounted on this possible problem, mainly because he didn't know the strength of mating marks, they weren't a norm in Fire Country. Thankfully he had read a brief scroll of the inner workings on mating bonds ever since he learned his betrothed was from Wind Country when he was younger, "I'll just bed you and then the connection should come right back. It's that easy." Itachi chose to omit the part about how he was going to have to create an entirely new mating mark over the one Sasuke had made but he'd get to that when the time came.

Naruto gave a hesitant nod. He said yes but the reluctance was obvious in his troubled blue eyes. Itachi ignored it, he'd make Naruto forget all about his old life. Both mentally and physically he'd make Naruto his.

Itachi combed Naruto's hair behind his ear, exposing the blonds marked neck. He ran his lips along the mark, he opened his mouth wide. His lips formed a suction cup around the scarred skin, he unhinged his jaw and before he could sink his teeth in he was pushed away.

"Sorry!" Naruto blushed in embarrassment.

Itachi tsked but didn't let the rebuttal distract him from what he wanted. He'd just have to approach it a different way. He'd have to get rough.

Before the blond could protest itachi hiked up Naruto's robe and wedged himself between Naruto's legs. Naruto let out a surprised scream and reflexively attempted to clamp his legs closed.

"Calm down." Itachi ordered the uncomfortable looking submissive. His anger mixed with his arousal. Angry because Naruto had tried to refuse him again but aroused because Naruto looked so lovely with his legs spread beneath him. He had never seen such a pretty sight. All those years of lusting while waiting for Naruto to come of age had allowed him to daydream of this exact scenario numerous times before but he had never imagined Naruto would look this lovely. Submissives really were such pleasing things to look at. "Have you calmed down? I'm your dominant you have nothing to fear."

Naruto nodded sheepishly. Itachi was right. Why was he feeling so nervous? It wasn't like this was the first time itachi had bedded him. He was having his baby for Kaguya's sake! If he wanted their bond to be repaired then he'd have to allow this to happen. But even as he tried to mentally calm himself down he couldn't because he couldn't feel any connection. It was still missing. How could Itachi fix a connection that didn't feel like it was even there?

"Don't panic, I haven't touched you yet." Itachi leaned down and placed a kiss on Naruto's pouting lips. He let his lips linger on the soft puckered skin, enjoying the sweet milk smell Naruto's hormones produced due to his pregnancy.

Naruto nodded, willfully ignoring the fact that Itachi's kiss felt foreign.

Itachi raised back up. He placed his palm flat against Naruto's thighs, caressing the soft skin and feeling it tremble underneath his calloused fingers. He drew his hands higher and then to the center, drawing little shapes on the inside of Naruto's shaking thighs. He inched closer, closer, so close that his hands were almost on top of Naruto's most intimate area.

"Stop!" Naruto's panicked scream sliced through the air. He sat up and shut his legs. "I-I-" Naruto had no words. What he had just done basically went against the instincts omegas were supposed to have for their mated alphas. An omega was naturally supposed to crave to satisfy their alphas physical needs, it was instinctual for an omega to want to alleviate their mates pent up desires. Naruto was ashamed about what he had just done but he couldn't control his body. A tiny, more dominant instinct was screaming at him to not let Itachi touch him and his body had obeyed it.

"What do you mean wait?" Itachi growled. The rebuff this time hadn't been so subtle and couldn't be ignored.

"I-I feel sick. I don't want to do that tonight." Naruto said quickly. He was breathing hard, his eyes blown and his bottom lip trembling.

"Sick?" Itachi repeated, skepticism coloring his tone, "Is it the baby?" Itachi ventured his hand out and put it over Naruto's belly, as soon as his hand came in contact with Naruto's stomach he recoiled away. An unfamiliar purple chakra had begun to form over Naruto's belly. The chakra had actually burnt him.

"Why did you do that?" Itachi hissed as he cradled his sizzling hand to his chest. The chakra had burnt the skin clean off his palm.

"I don't know? I didn't mean to!" Naruto cried, he touched his belly and the bubbling purple chakra didn't burn him. It had never burned anyone, he didn't even know it could do that! And it had definitely never been purple!

Itachi quickly activated his sharingan and scanned Naruto's stomach. He was stunned speechless. The fetus had ignited the bubbling red chakra on its own it had also infused its own chakra with Naruto's which had turned the chakra purple. He didn't even know what to say, in all his years he had never seen anything like this. A fetus unknowingly emitting chakra through its mother was unheard of. Itachi sat up, intrigued but also in deep pain.

"I'm sorry, itachi. I don't know what's happening but I promise you I didn't intentionally try to hurt you!"

Itachi forced a smile, both to calm down Naruto and to also calm himself down. He was feeling the loose grasp he had on his sanity slipping away as the pain ate away at his hand. "Don't fret, little one. I believe you. Our son is just...extra protective of you is all."

"Our son?" Naruto caressed his glowing stomach, shocked by the mention of his child. "He's doing this, why?!"

"Who knows, maybe he doesn't want daddy to play inside mommy tonight." itachi caressed Naruto's cheek, the submissive was carrying an extraordinary child and he didn't even know it. Itachi cursed. The child should've been his...his brother had taken so much from him he could feel the anger of the betrayal taking over again. He was definitely going to lose it. His hand was trembling, the throbbing of his hand aligned with the rhythmic thumping of his booming heart.

"What should I do?" Naruto asked nervously. Itachi was definitely mad, his eyes were full of fire.

"We'll try to strengthen our bond after he calms down a little, he's only a fetus so he can't maintain that chakra hold for long." Itachi gritted. He stood up. "Naruto, I'll be right back. I need to..."  _take my anger out on someone who isn't you_ "get some air, I don't think I can be around you right now without forcing myself on you. Don't wait up, get some sleep. I'll be back late."

"Oh-okay..." Naruto felt a knot twist in his stomach. He should've been happy, his baby was healthy and his alpha desired him greatly and even respected him after how rude he had denied him but Naruto felt anything but happy. He still felt empty, a bond was missing and he knew that it wasn't his bond with itachi but something else...but what other bond could there be? He forlornly watched itachi leave the room. Once he was alone he closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around his still glowing belly. The swell of his son growing soothed him a little.

After he fell deep into sleep he heard a beautiful voice full of sorrow yearning him to remember something but when he awoke that morning he had completely forgotten what the tortured voice had begged him to remember. The only words he could remember the beautiful stranger saying was

_my love._

* * *

Deidara woke up to the sound of nails scratching glass. The screech wasn't as unpleasant as the voice that followed.

"Wake up." The deep voice was beautiful, the baritone of it was pleasing to the ears. Deidara hated it. Such a beautiful voice was wasted on such a detestable man.

He knew it was itachi, he didn't need to hear his voice, Itachi's scent gave him away. He smelled of the many flowers that were always present in his room. He couldn't forget the smell because he had snuck many times into Itachi's room while he was in a coma. He used to just watch Itachi's serene face and count the times Itachi's chest would rise up each time he took a breath. He had loved the smell. Now he hated it.

"Get up."

Deidara's body ached. He had never been put under a genjutsu before. It was such a gruesome experience. He had lived through a never ending nightmare for what felt like an entire lifetime. He had always doubted the Uchiha clans strength. He had thought their powers had been exaggerated. But no, they were just as strong as the rumors foretold. Uchihas must've been descended from demons to posses such an evil jutsu. And itachi was the most vile of them all, he truly befitted the title of the king of the demons.

"I said get up," Itachi's melodic voice commanded again. "I need you to go attend to Naruto. If he wakes up and a handmaid isn't there to attend to him he'll get suspicious."

Deidara couldn't move even if he wanted to. Which he did, not for the demon Uchihas sake but for his cousins. He was dying to know how Naruto was. Had itachi hurt him? He better not have touched a single hair on Naruto's head! Deidara swore on Kaguya that once he regained the ability to move he was going to destroy itachi. He'd start small by shoving two clay bombs up Itachi's nose then end big by forcing a bomb straight down Itachi's throat. He'd make sure itachi suffered as he had. He couldn't believe he had been so infatuated with him!

"I know you're awake. Now quit wasting my time and get up."

Deidara fluttered his eyes open. That's all he could do. He glared at itachi. He knew he risked the chance of being put under a genjutsu by staring straight at the demon but he was too brave to feel fear. He was the strongest omega in Wind Country for a reason. Intimidation tactics didn't work on him.

"Good, you're awake. Now go."

Deidara didn't budge. He poured as much hatred as he could into his stare.

"Deidara, was it?" Itachi chuckled, "you're a brave submissive to stare at me like that. You were brave yesterday too, trying to protect your cousin with those strange clay bombs. You're lucky I'm not in the mood to kill right now. Get up or I'll get in the mood."

Deidara's glare didn't waver. He wanted to stuff the demon to the brim with bombs but if he died right now he'd never get the chance. He'd have to cooperate if he was going to get what he wanted.

"I can't move." Deidara admitted. His voice was hoarse. The genjutsu had been so realistic that he had screamed in real life too.

"You're paralyzed aren't you? How silly of me. A side effect of the mangekyo is temporary paralysis, I forgot that-" Itachi suddenly stopped talking. His eyes doubled and seemed to clear. A look of sincerity that Deidara hadn't seen before bloomed in Itachi's black eyes, "I'm so sorry, please tell my brother that I'm-"Itachi's eye twitched as if he were trying to stop himself from saying something, the sinister look came back fiercer than before. "as I was saying I forgot you're paralyzed." Itachi activated his mangekyo and performed a quick genjutsu on Deidara, "there, you should be able to get up. Now stop lying around and go attend to my submissive before I paralyze you again or maybe I'll erase all of your memories just like I did to Naruto. He's in my room, he shouldn't be awake yet. He had a restless night. I had to erase his memories twice last night so be careful with what you say. If you should let anything slip I'll cut your tongue out."

Deidara was confused. What was that just now? It was like another person had momentarily possessed itachi? Had he imagined it? No matter- Deidara wasn't going to miss this chance. He opened his palm and tried to form a bomb but it wouldn't form. He tried again and managed to make a small butterfly bomb but when he tried to throw it it wouldn't detonate.

"Pathetic." Itachi scoffed. He grabbed Deidara's jaw and applied pressure until Deidara's lips jutted together. "I advise you to stop before my patience runs out."

"I won't stop until I blow you to bits!" Deidara smacked Itachi's arm away and spit. It landed right on Itachi's cheek.

Itachi wiped the saliva off. He stared at it. His lips pressed together.

"You should've listened to me now I'm going to kill you." Itachi activated his mangekyo but before he could use it it disappeared turning Itachi's eyes back to black. The calm look of sincerity returned. "Run! I don't want to kill you!" Was all itachi said before the crazed look came back.

Deidara scrambled off the bed and ran as fast as he could. He was freaking out. What in Kaguya's name was happening? There really was another person inside itachi!

Deidara ran until he was at Itachi's room door, he went in without knocking and then slammed the door shut. He locked it then collapsed onto the floor. His heart was beating so hard.

"Dei-nii, what are you doing here?" Naruto's sweet voice interrupted deidaras mini breakdown. He looked up and saw Naruto sitting up in bed. He was dwarfed in the mountain of covers so that only his head poked out.

Deidara let out a relieved cry. "Naruto, you're alright!" He ran to Naruto and enveloped him in a tight embrace. He kissed his cousins perfect scarred cheeks, "I thought that demon had done something to you! I was so worried, everything happened so fast! I tried to save you but I couldn't do anything against those demonic powers!" Deidara explained between kisses."

"What are you talking about?" Naruto blinked owlishly, "are you okay Dei-nii?"

In that moment Deidara remembered something Itachi had said. He had wiped Naruto's memories clean! So that meant that Naruto didn't remember anything, no wonder he was snuggled up in Itachi's bed as if itachi were his alpha. Deidara was conflicted. On one hand he wanted to tell Naruto about what had happened but on the other he wasn't sure if it was wise to do so. He wasn't sure what to do.

"Why did you come visit me? You don't look so good, did you sleep last night?" Naruto asked concerned.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me. Let's worry about you. I'm here to dress you you need to be bathed and changed." Deidara plastered a fake smile on his face. He had decided to lie. A gut instinct was telling him to keep quiet. He didn't think Naruto would believe him, no, someone else needed to be the one to tell Naruto the truth and that someone was Sasuke. He'd tell Sasuke as soon as he had the chance in the meanwhile he'd keep Naruto away from the demon alpha for as long as he could. Yes he'd keep Naruto in the dark about the truth but he wasn't cruel enough to allow his cousin to be with another alpha who wasn't his mate.

"You're going to help me bathe? But that's Konan's job?" Naruto asked, confusion knitted his blond brows together.

"Not today, I'm going to help you instead. Is that okay?" Deidara bit his lip. It was better to not tell Naruto the truth of Konan either. It would only hurt him all over again.

"Of course it is." Naruto smiled.

"Good, I'll go fill the tub then."

Deidara quickly filled the tub in the adjacent washroom with warm water. He came back to the main room a few minutes later. When he entered the room he was taken aback to see Naruto sitting on the bed with the most dazed look on his face. He looked deep in thought.

Deidara cleared his throat. "The bath is ready."

Naruto came back to. He smiled apologetically to Deidara. "What did you say?"

"The baths ready." Deidara repeated. He was concerned, Naruto didn't seem all there. It was as if the memories itachi had erased had somehow changed Naruto. He had done it too much or something. If you keep erasing then eventually nothing remains. Or maybe Deidara was just reading to much into things and Naruto was just sleepy.

"Okay, I'll be right there." Naruto wobbled off the bed and trudged to the washroom. Once inside Deidara helped to undress his cousin then guided him into the warm tub.

"You're getting so big." Deidara commented to stifle the odd tension. "You're even bigger than Hidan-kun was when he was nine months and you're not even there yet!"

The playful taunt seemed to pull Naruto out of the odd stupor he had been under. He laughed loudly and agreed with Deidara's spot on observation. "Yeah, I am pretty big, huh." Naruto grinned as he rubbed his half submerged belly with his wet hand. "Itachi's baby is certainly healthy to be this big inside me at only six months."

A pang of guilt overcame Deidara. It dawned on him that what he was doing-knowingly withholding the truth from Naruto was awful. He alleviated his guilt by reminding himself that he would be telling Sasuke later. As horrible as the jutsu itachi had performed was he had to admit it was an impressive jutsu to be able to make a mated omega completely forget their alpha. That was something people in Wind Country thought was an impossibility. A mated alpha and omega are one being, they can't live with out each other and the more love they share the stronger their bond is. Sasuke wasn't his most favorite person in the world but Deidara knew his cousin was in love with him. It really did amaze him that itachi was able to make Naruto forget that.

"Do you really not remember anything?" Deidara accidentally voiced his thoughts out loud.

"Remember what?" Naruto hummed.

"Never mind." Deidara bit his tongue from spilling his guilty thoughts. "Hey, let's get you out of this tub. You have to make it down for breakfast still."

"Oh right! I forgot itachi told me there was going to be a celebration at breakfast today. Let's hurry or else we'll miss it!"

"A celebration? For what?"

"For Itachi's return of course!" Naruto beamed.

"Itachi's return?" Deidara repeated incredulously. Did Naruto not hear what he had just said. How could he say that when his memories were supposed to be "erased"? Did that mean Naruto remembered! "Did you remember the truth?!" Deidara asked excitedly.

"The truth?" Naruto cocked his head. "What do you mean the truth? You know Dei-nii you're acting strange today, sleep is important so you really shouldn't stay up all night!"

Deidara was flabbergasted. How did Naruto not see the gap in his thoughts?! "Do you seriously not remember what itachi did to you?!"

Naruto blanked. He looked down and when he looked back up it was as if Deidara hadn't asked anything at all. "Did you say something, Dei-nii?"

"No, no I didn't." Deidara's heart clenched. His early observation had been right, Naruto's mind was all mixed up. He was going to have to find Sasuke as soon as possible but how could he when itachi was out there rampaging?

* * *

Sasuke was wound up tighter than he had ever been in his entire life. He hadn't slept at all the previous night. He had stood in the hall of Itachi's room, ready to barge in if he heard anything suspicious. At one point his brother had actually come out the room, which led to a heated exchange. Itachi had wanted him to leave but Sasuke refused. It ended with Itachi incinerating half the hallway including an unlucky maid who thankfully escaped with only a burnt yukata.

Sasuke was exhausted. One night without Naruto by his side had made his inner beast insanely anxious. It needed Naruto constantly, especially right now since Naruto was pregnant. His inner beast wouldn't be satisfied until his submissive was back in his arms where he belonged.

Sasuke briefly wondered if this was karma for how he had ignored Naruto during the time he was trying to get over the whole Neji thing. He was sure it was because this was absolute torture. He hadn't known that Kaguya could be this cruel. He would've never imagined that she'd take away both his pregnant submissive away and also his loving and kind brother at the same time.

His parents were having a special breakfast to celebrate Itachi's awakening and later on in the week they planned to have a huge feast where all of Fire Country except for the Hyūga's were invited to celebrate the fallen heirs return.

Sasuke had decided to skip breakfast. He honestly didn't think he could stomach eating with Naruto and Itachi together. Besides it wasn't lucrative, he had to find a way to stop this whole mess with Itachi as fast as he could, he was going insane! His parents didn't seem to notice the change in Naruto yet but when they did he was nervous how'd they react. Yesterday he believed that his parents would take his side and see the absolute lunacy of what Itachi had done but today he wasn't so sure of that now. The way his mother and father had been acting was leading him to believe they'd always see things Itachi's way. Deep down he was scared that his parents would allow itachi to keep Naruto and then make itachi king as he was always supposed to be. It was a completely rational fear, itachi had always been the favorite and the crown did actually belong to itachi first. Sasuke didn't want to see his inner fears come to fruition so he'd have to end all of this before they could. All he had to do was kiss Naruto but that was much harder than it sounded.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun!" A familiar nauseating voice called out.

Sasuke turned in the other direction, he already knew who that annoying voice belonged to and he wasn't in the mood to indulge its owner.

"Sasuke-kun wait up! I have something important to tell you!" Sakura quickened her step and stopped right in front of Sasuke, completely blocking his path. "I swear Sasuke-kun what I have to tell you is really important." Sakura clasped her fingers together and looked up at Sasuke pleadingly. It was all an act, a ploy of innocence that Sasuke detested about Sakura. He always had and always would.

"I don't care about anything you have to say, move before I burn that fake look off your face."

Sakura stood planted, unmoved by Sasuke's rebuff. Sasuke had to admit, she was a brave submissive to do such a bold thing.

He sighed, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. He knew Sakura well enough to know that she wasn't going to stop.

"Fine, what is it that you have to tell me?"

Sakura's jade green eyes sparkled, "I just saw something that I don't think Sasuke-kun will like very much." Sakura's innocent expression dropped and she adopted a smug look, "I was walking down the hall minding my own business and then I heard Itachi-san and Naruto's voice coming from Naruto's powder room. I peeked in out of pure curiosity and I saw Itachi-san pleasuring Naruto with his mouth-"

"He what?!" Sasuke banged his fist on the nearest surface, which just so happened to be the wall. The wall cracked, making a sizable hole.

"Itachi-san was tasting Naruto down there between his legs," Sakura continued, not even startled by the Uchiha kings killing aura, "I was so shocked I didn't know what else to do but to go find you so I could tell you."

Sasuke gritted his teeth. He was going to have to act faster than he had planned. He wanted to cut his brothers tongue out for even touching Naruto's skin. The jealousy was hindering his ability to think rationally or focus on anything but pulverizing his brother's face. He didn't even notice when Sakura had wrapped her arms around his neck. He only realized it when he smelled her scent invade his senses.

"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura licked her pink lips; she let out a breathy moan right into the shell of Sasuke's ear. "I always knew that Naruto would betray you, he's always belonged to Itachi-san so there's no way he could ever truly give you all of his heart. Let me love you the way he never did." Sakura pressed her lips to the side of Sasuke's mouth, leaving a pink kiss print behind. "I know you better than he ever could."

Sasuke didn't even take a moment to piece together what Sakura was saying. The second he felt her lips touch his skin his reaction was reflexive; he wrapped his hands around Sakura's thin throat. He hoisted her up, her small geta clad feet dangled in the air precariously. She brought her hands up and scratched at Sasuke's hands around her neck. Her pretty green eyes watered, her skin was turning blue from the lack of oxygen.

"I'm going to kill you." Sasuke said evenly. He tightened his grip as he brought Sakura up higher against the wall. "I'm going to make it so that I don't ever have to see that fake smile on your face again or see the gross obsession in your eyes when you look at me."

"S-sas-uke-kun, pl-ease-" Sakura gurgled.

"Please, what? Stop?" Sasuke scoffed, "why should I? All you've ever done is make my life miserable. I've given you plenty chances to leave already and you refuse to. It's like you get off on my hatred for you. I've had enough."

Sakura squeezed her eyes, her face was pass blue and was now a deadly shade of pale white. Her hands had gone limp at her sides, they hung there like two dead weights. "I-love-y-you."

Sasuke laughed. A genuine laugh, amused by the pink haired submissive's words, "you don't love me, you're obsessed with me. You're a lunatic who doesn't understand rejection."

"N-no. I love y-you." Sakura sputtered.

Sasuke was about to answer but the sound of geta clacking on the floor caught his attention. He let his hold on Sakura go when he saw a head of familiar blonde hair bobbing down the hallway. Naruto was walking right in their direction. Two masked men were flanked on Naruto's sides, no doubt they were guards ordered by Itachi to protect Naruto just in case Sasuke tried anything. He didn't expect anything less from his brother. However, he was surprised to see Deidara beside Naruto.

Sasuke quickly let Sakura go. She collapsed to the ground and sucked in a giant gulp of air, the color steadily returned to her cheeks.

Sasuke only let her go because he wouldn't traumatize Naruto by killing Sakura in front of him. As far as Naruto's brainwashed mind could remember he and Sakura were friends and Sakura was his...loving  _wife_.

"Get up!" Sasuke quietly hissed at Sakura. He grabbed her by the arms and forcibly pulled her to stand behind him.

"Why did you choke me?" Sakura hacked out a haggard dry cough. She brought her hand up to her neck and touched the bruising skin.

"Shut up and act normal." Sasuke smiled as Naruto finally arrived in front of them. The two guards stood a whole foot behind; they had their hands on their kunai, ready to strike if Sasuke got too close to Naruto. Sasuke could smell fear on them, they were scared because he was a king and by following his brother's orders they were directly going against their kings command. If Sasuke chose to attack and won they'd be executed. Sasuke decided to not try anything…he'd kill the guards with his own hands later when Naruto wasn't around to see him murder two men in cold blood. He was desperate to get Naruto back but he wouldn't allow his impatience to lead to Naruto becoming traumatized.

"Good morning, Sasuke-san!" Naruto greeted cheerfully. He was wearing a black kimono that had dazzling stitched red flowers on the hanging sleeves, his hair was done up and there were strings of black orchids hanging from it. It reminded Sasuke of the past, when Naruto was still a child and had dressed all in black just because he had been told that black was Itachi's favorite color. It was like a visual reminder that at the moment Naruto belonged to his brother.

"Morning." Sasuke replied in a cool and collected tone. Well, he hoped it sounded cool and collected because internally he was losing it. He had missed Naruto so much and all he wanted to do at the moment was scoop his submissive up into his arms and pepper his face with kisses. But that wasn't possible right now, the closet thing to it that would calm his urges down was to scent Naruto. He leaned forward and sniffed Naruto's neck. Scenting a submissive was just something all dominants did to submissive's they liked, it was common especially if that submissive was their spouse. It was a way to check who their submisisves had been around, Sasuke could only smell faint traces of Itachi on Naruto which meant that Sakura had either lied or had exaggerated what she had seen happening between Naruto and his brother. Naruto realized Sasuke was scenting him. He blushed and took a step back; it was the non-verbal way submissives rejected a dominants interest in them.

Deidara cleared his throat. Naruto had begun to space out again. He tugged on the hem of Naruto's sleeve. Naruto instantaneously snapped out of his daze.

"Sorry, what were we talking about?"

Sasuke raised his brow. He looked to Deidara for clarification. Naruto was behaving strange. Even if his memories had been erased he shouldn't be so forgetful.

Deidara gave Sasuke a pointed look. The promise to explain later resided in his eyes.

"We only exchanged pleasantries, Naruto. Are you not feeling well?" Sasuke almost reached out to touch Naruto's forehead to see if he had a fever. He stopped himself, if Naruto wouldn't even let him scent him then there was no way he'd let him touch him.

"I'm feeling fine. It's so unlike you to worry about me, Sasuke-san." Naruto brought his hand up to cover his mouth to laugh. "Maybe I should be the one asking if you're feeling well?"

_I've been worrying about you all night!_  Sasuke internally screamed.

"I assure you I'm well. I just worry because I haven't seen you all morning."

"You would've seen me earlier if you joined in breakfast this morning. Why didn't you attend breakfast? Itachi really wanted you to be there. It was extra delicious and the cooks even made Itachi a welcome back cherry cake with pretty sugar flowers on it. He wanted you to be the one to cut it." Naruto pouted.

Did Naruto even know what they were actually celebrating? Sasuke doubted it, itachi wouldn't tell Naruto he had been in a coma. So how did Naruto know? There seemed to be an inconsistency in what Naruto remembered. He had gaps in certain memories. "Forgive me, I had a prior engagement that I couldn't miss. I'm sure my brother will understand."

"I'm glad you're back to normal," Naruto suddenly admitted as he self consciously rubbed his hand over his stomach, a pretty red hue tinted his cheeks, "after what happened yesterday night I was scared that Sasuke-san was angry with me. I didn't mean to threaten you like that, I just got territorial. I was feeling...weird yesterday so please don't think to much on what I said or how I acted."

"It's fine. I'm sorry for provoking you." Sasuke had to literally bite the inside of his cheek. He was going crazy. Of-fucking-course Naruto was feeling weird yesterday since he was brainwashed! "Do you feel better now?"

"I suppose so, yes." Naruto made a face as if he didn't even believe the words that had just come out of his mouth. "I don't know why but my hormones feel calmer around you Sasuke-san. They've been driving me crazy all night and morning but now it's like their hardly there, strange isn't it?"

Sasuke almost lost his composure-almost. Of course Naruto felt calmer around him, both their son and Naruto's body knew who his real father was! Oh, how Sasuke just wanted to end this mad charade! He eyed the guards and contemplated if killing them and traumatizing Naruto would be worth it. Deidara gave him another pointed look, it was as if he were telling him telepathically not to do it.

"I really like you Sasuke-san so I'm glad you didn't stay mad at me."

"Of course he didn't you slut." Sakura muttered underneath her breath.

"is that you Sakura-chan?" Naruto's eyes widened, finally taking note that Sakura was standing behind Sasuke. He hadn't heard her. "I didn't notice you since you cut off all of your hair. I really like it." Naruto beamed.

Sakura blinked rapidly, confusion written all over her face. Why in hells name was Naruto talking to her and suddenly adding 'chan' to her name and complimenting her? And what was up this whole conversation...something was going on.

Sakura winced when she felt a pinch to her side. She looked down thinking that a bug had bitten her but it turned out to be Sasuke's fingers pinching her.

She looked at Sasuke questioning the reason for his action.

"Naruto is talking to you answer him."

"Who else would it be?" Sakura growled at Naruto. "You know perfectly well that I'm the only submissive in this palace with short hair."

"Oh, I actually didn't know that. The last time I saw you you had long hair, maybe I really am going crazy." Naruto admitted apologetically.

Sakura gaped. What the fuck was going on?

Sasuke turned his head and glared at her, silently telling Sakura to not voice her very obvious confusion out loud.

When Sasuke turned his head back around he was taken aback by the odd look on Naruto's face. He thought Naruto had spaced out again but then he noticed Naruto's wide blue eyes were staring straight at his cheek. Sasuke rubbed it to see if there was anything on it, when he pulled his hand back he saw the pink paint that Sakura's kiss had left behind.

Naruto stared at Sasuke's cheek for a prolonged second. His eyes twitched and then completely closed. The metallic smell of anger had begun to twine with Naruto's scent. Naruto's shoulders trembled; he looked like he was battling with himself internally.

"What is that?" The blonde omega frowned slightly, his blue eyes practically devoured the sight of the little pink lipstick smudge on Sasuke's cheek."tell me, Sasuke-san." Naruto demanded with the coldness of a possessive omega.

"It's nothing important." Sasuke answered carefully.

"That isn't what I asked," Naruto said frigidly, sparks of fire ignited in his eyes. "I asked what that disgusting smudge on your face is?"

"Naruto-nii, don't get angry about such an insignificant thing." Deidara cautioned from the side. It wasn't good for Naruto to get riled up.

"No, it's not insignificant at all. I want to know what that thing is!" Naruto grabbed Sasuke's face and jerked it closer. "Who kissed you and left that ugly smudge behind!" Naruto abruptly paused. His hand went limp. He closed his eyes and took a step back, after a second his eyes fluttered open.

"Sorry, what just happened? For some reason I felt like hurting someone." Naruto shook his head.

Sasuke raised his brow. What the fuck was that?

"I should be getting back to Itachi, I'm sure he's wondering where I've taken his son off to." Naruto suddenly announced.

"His son?" Sakura exclaimed, completely flabbergasted by the entire situation now. Hearing Naruto say that was just too much. Like the cherry on top of this whole deranged conversation.

"Yes, he's been acting weird all morning. He practically won't let me out of his sight, I told him I was going to the garden and he only allowed me to go after I agreed to take two guards with me so I probably should leave now. He's far too protective, it must be how all alphas are when their omegas are pregnant, huh Sakura-chan?" Naruto chirped.

Sakura walked out from behind Sasuke so that she could be in Naruto's line of vision, the moment Sakura was in full view Naruto let out a horrified scream.

"Your baby! What happened!?" He caressed Sakura's flat stomach. The pink haired omega was fuming, her green eyes stared at Naruto with pure hatred.

"what happened to your baby!?" Naruto was bawling his eyes out now. Tiny sobs ripped out of his throat.

"What the fuck?" Sakura shrieked. "How dare you even pretend about this!"

"Sakura!" Sasuke warned but his warning fell of deaf ears. Sakura had already grabbed Naruto by his hair and had a kunai to his throat.

"I've wanted to slit your throat ever since you became Sasuke's betrothed! You stupid slut!"

"Get away from him!" Deidara was still too weak to produce any bombs but he'd die before he let anyone hurt his cousin. He took out a kunai and lunged at Sakura.

"Dei-nii, don't hurt her! She's not herself right now!" Naruto put his hand up so Deidara wouldn't take another step closer.

"Sakura-chan what is this about? I'm sorry I just wanted to know what happened to your baby." Naruto spoke calmly. "I didn't intend to offend you."

"Drop the kunai, Sakura!" Sasuke ordered. The sight of his pregnant submissive being threatened with a kunai to his throat infuriated him. Especially since the one threatening Naruto was a Sakura.

"No Sasuke-kun, he betrayed you and he insulted me. He deserves to die!"

Sasuke gritted his teeth. Even though he didn't want to while in front of Naruto he was going have to kill Sakura. He grabbed the back of Sakura's head and pulled until she was forced away from Naruto. As Sasuke pulled Sakura's kunai had dragged along Naruto's neck, leaving behind a small, slightly bloody, straight cut.

"You've gone too far this time!" Sasuke thundered when he saw the fresh cut on Naruto's neck. Sasuke ignited his hand into a flame.

"What is this?" Itachi's smooth voice sliced through the chaotic commotion. He walked up to Naruto and ran his finger across the bleeding cut on his neck, "Did Sakura do this to you?"

"She did, but she didn't mean it!" Naruto came to Sakura's defense despite just being attacked by her, "It doesn't even hurt, Itachi don't hurt her!"

"You need to learn how to control your submissive, little brother. If your wife attacks Naruto again I'll have no choice but to punish her." Itachi glanced down at Sakura, he looked at her as if she were a piece of dust floating around in the corner of his eye. She was nothing. Just an insignificant thing taking up space.

"And you," itachi pinned Sakura with an even stare, which immediately made the pink haired submissive nervous, "since you're my brothers submissive I won't kill you but if you ever lay a hand on my submissive again I'll have you executed."

Sakura nodded quickly. Itachi's overpowering killing aura made her quiver with fear. It was a feeling she detested.

"Good. Now Naruto let me have a proper look at what she did to you."

Naruto obeyed and lifted his head, exposing his neck for Itachi. The action was far too intimate for Sasuke, Naruto only did that for him whenever he wanted him to kiss or bite his mating mark.

Sasuke growled.

The territorial growl drew Naruto's eyes to Sasuke. With out realizing it he found himself wanting to go comfort the growling alpha. The odd urge baffled Naruto. Why did he want to comfort an alpha that didn't even belong to him?

Itachi tsked his tongue, a warning. "Calm yourself, little brother." He then went back to observing the bloody cut on Naruto's neck. "does it hurt, little one?"

Naruto shook his head but winced as the process of moving his head caused his cut to sting. His eyes lingered on Sasuke. He really wanted to go comfort him.

"Don't lie to me, it's a deep cut. I can tell my pretty submissive is going to have an unsightly scar here." Itachi fretted.

Sasuke growled at the words of ownership.

"Easy, brother." Itachi warned again.

"Don't call me brother. You don't have the right when you're not even the real itachi." Sasuke hissed lowly.

Itachi ignored Sasuke and instead focused on Naruto. "Tell me honestly Naruto, does it hurt?"

Naruto frowned, he was feeling weird again. Confused about why he felt so detached from his alpha."Fine, it does hurt."

"So stubborn, just like my baby brother." Itachi sighed, "Here, let me see,"Itachi bent down and lapped up the blood on the small cut.

Naruto shrieked. His face turned bright red, on reflex he pulled his hand back and slapped itachi right in the face. The sharp slap resounded through the spacious hallway. It echoed off the high ceiling, reverberating for all to hear. The gathered group froze in silence. No one could actually believe what had just happened. Not even Sakura could fathom the bizarre sight she had witnessed. Uchiha itachi was untouchable, no one, especially a submissive, ever dared to even think of raising a hand to him. He was a royal dominant whom every person in Fire Country knew to respect.

Naruto was the first to break the silence with an apology. "I'm sorry! I-I don't know why I..." Naruto stared down at his hand, which was now tinged red. He couldn't actually understand what he had just done or why. He had just felt this urgent internal lull to reject itachi any way he could.

Sakura erupted into a fit of giggles. Her green eyes screwed together as delighted laughs spewed from her pink lips. "He-he really slapped Itachi-san!" Sakura gasped in a gulp of air as the shock subsided and continued to laugh. Finally Naruto was going to be punished for his disgusting behavior. He was going to get what he deserved. She was jittery just thinking about it. What would itachi do to him? She cackled harder as she began to imagine the blond being delivered an array of extreme punishments.

Itachi and Sasuke remained still staring each other down until Sasuke moved and grabbed Naruto's hand. He pulled him away from Itachi's side. That instantly broke itachi from his frozen stupor.

"Give me back my submissive, little brother. I have to punish him for what he just did." Itachi hissed out. His left eye was twitching. Sasuke could tell that itachi had reverted back into the deep pit of insanity he had been in yesterday. The extra tinge of craziness in his eyes gave it away. It was like looking at a snake that was ready to strike.

"No, you're not going to lay a hand on him." Sasuke said pointedly.

"Give me my fucking submissive, Sasuke before I take him by force!" Itachi screamed. "He has to learn that he can't do things like that!"

"You're insane if you think I'll let you lay a hand on Naruto." Sasuke tightened his hold on his submissive. This wasn't the same itachi from yesterday, the itachi from yesterday had said he wouldn't lay a hand on Naruto since dominants who hurt submissive weren't worthy of being called dominants. This itachi had devolved into an even lower rung of insanity in just one day.

In a blink of an eye itachi activated his mangekyo. Not to be outdone Sasuke quickly activated his sharingan.

"I'll teach you to stop interfering!" Itachi bellowed. He opened his palm and a blue ball of fire appeared out of thin air.

"Enough! I'm going to beat the crazy right out of you!" Sasuke activated two red fire balls in both hands.

The brothers were a terrifying sight. Two powerful alphas at full power prepared to fight. Sakura wasn't dumb, she ran down the hall where she could hide and watch the upcoming fight from a safe distance. Deidara took a few steps back as well, Naruto however didn't move an inch. His blue eyes were transfixed on Sasuke's burning fire orbs. They were bringing forth an unpleasant fuzzy memory of something unclear.

"Come stand over here with me, Naruto-nii!" Deidara waved Naruto over but Naruto ignored him.

"Go, Naruto. I don't want you to get caught up in this." Sasuke ordered as he stared itachi down.

"I-I-" Naruto's feet didn't budge. He couldn't move. The sight of Sasuke in a fighting stance bothered him. He didn't like it. He was mortified to admit it but he was more concerned about Sasuke than he was about itachi.

"Sasuke-san..." Naruto whispered. "I-I can't explain it but I have this feeling deep inside telling me to protect you, please don't fight."

Itachi growled. "Stop affecting my submissive! Your bond should be nonexistent after what i did to him! Why can't he forget you? None of this would have happened if you just left my submissive alone in the first place!" Itachi threw a fire ball. He produced three more and threw them in succession straight at Sasuke's face.

"Naruto, go!" Sasuke urged as he dodged Itachi's attacks and retaliated with one of his own.

"Don't fight, please!" Naruto pleaded.

"Go!" Sasuke ordered again. His voice was laced with desperation as he narrowly escaped one of Itachi's fire balls. Naruto was too close, he could easily get hit by a stray fire attack.

"I can't," Naruto shook his head, watching Sasuke fight was torture. He didn't want Sasuke to get hurt. He wanted Sasuke to win. he should've been rooting for his alpha to be victorious but once again Naruto found himself choosing Sasuke. Why! Why did he feel this way!

Naruto's support for Sasuke had driven itachi deeper into despair. His hands were fueled with two grand blazing blue flames that reached up to the high ceiling. They dwarfed Sasuke's smaller flames.

If itachi landed just one hit he'd win.

Naruto wouldn't let that happen.

"Itachi stop this fight immediately!" Naruto was but an omega but he spoke with the conviction of an alpha. Crying wouldn't solve anything. He felt more comfortable demanding what he wanted, like that was the true him.

Itachi paused, distracted for a second by Naruto's brazenness. "What did you just say to me?"

"I said to stop this fight!"

Itachi's eyes twitched. "Why? Because you don't want me to hurt Sasuke? Maybe I should just kill him so you can stop fucking thinking about him!" With the quickness only a skilled fighter could command he threw a fireball directly at Sasuke. Before it could land Naruto had done the unthinkable. He formed a rasengan and threw it at Itachi's fireball. The wind-based jutsu completely diffused the fire.

Naruto panted. The energy to produce the rasengan had come from pure adrenaline or at least he had thought that until he saw that his hand was outlined with a thin film of bubbly purple chakra. His baby had lent him chakra again!? How!

"Naruto, what is that?" Sasuke asked in awe.

"It's my son, brother. He's learned to lend out chakra without any training. Amazing isn't he? He takes after me." Itachi boasted.

"Shut up!" Sasuke roared. He tackled Itachi to the ground and repeatedly punched him in the face. "Snap out of it! Stop behaving like a psychopath!"

"I'm trying to!" Itachi yelled. "I've been trying this whole time!"

Sasuke was stunned. Itachi had actually looked like Itachi when he had said that. There was no crazy look in his eyes. Was that just hopeful thinking? He stopped his assault.

"What did you just say?"

"I said I'm trying-" Itachi's eye twitched and his face darkened. "I said get the fuck off of me!" Itachi threw Sasuke off. "You're lucky you caught me off guard, I won't let that happen again." Itachi sneered as he wiped the blood off his split lip.

"Sasuke-sama, I've been looking all over for you. It's Danzo-san, he has completed what you've ordered. He wishes to see you to show you the prize he collected!" A man dressed in plain messenger attire announced as he flitted hurriedly down the hall. In his haste he neglected to realize that he had just walked into a fight. And not just any fight but a fight between royalty.

"Oh, I can see it's a bad time." The messenger backed away. If he interfered he feared he'd be hanged.

"No it's a perfect time. My submissive and I were just leaving." Itachi roughly grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled him to his side.

"No! I want to stay and-"

"Naruto, I advise you to stay quiet. You've already disrespected me today let's not make it twice." Itachi said in a strained voice.

"Yes, Itachi." Naruto folded his hands together and looked down obediently.

Sasuke could do nothing but watch as his brother took his submissive. He wanted to fight but what could he do? He needed to find the perfect time.

"Deidara, make sure my brother doesn't hurt Naruto. If he does anything send a messenger for me. I'll be back tonight."

Deidara nodded. He bowed and sped up to catch up with Naruto.

"Sasuke-sama, I hate to rush you but Danzo-san is very anxiously awaiting you."

"I heard you the first time!" Sasuke hissed.

As Sasuke walked away with the nervous messenger he sent Sakura a glare. It was a silent message that he knew she'd understand. He'd be taking care of her later. He had a bigger problem to deal with at the moment. Itachi. He had a plan to deal with his brother, it had come to him spontaneously but he was sure if all went well it'd work.

* * *

"Lord Uchiha, as I promised my best man has retrieved the eyes of the Hyūga princess." Danzo snapped his wrinkly fingers and out came a masked man. He set a silver box on the table between the Uchiha king and Danzo. The man bowed, "I guarantee that these are Hinata Hyuga's eyes. I plucked them from her head myself."

Danzo made an annoyed sound then shooed the man away. The man bowed again and exited the room. They were in Danzo's quarters. It smelled of a mixture of death and cleaning supplies as if someone had desperately tried to rid the home of the acrid smell but no matter how hard they scrubbed and mopped the stagnant stench still lingered.

"I looked them over myself, Sasuke-san." Danzo boasted proudly, "they are authentic."

Sasuke nodded. He believed the old fool. But just in case he took a peek into the box. There nestled on a satin white pillow were two pearl white eyes. Blood still clung to the nerves. It was a grim sight but it was an equally pleasing one. They were the eyes of a cheater. A submissive that acted innocent but played dirty when no one was looking.

"As I promised, they belong to you now." Sasuke sat back.

Danzo smirked, "I am pleased to hear you say that." A silence ensued, Sasuke could tell the old man wanted to say something else but was holding back.

"Whatever it is spit it out."

Danzo grimaced, "Forgive me if this is out of line Lord Uchiha but I've heard a troubling rumor today."

"What is it?" Sasuke had a pretty good guess what that news was. The council was well aware of Itachi's return. It had been only a day and a night but the council had eyes in the palace. Of course they knew. It would've been surprising if they didn't.

"Itachi-san, he…he claims-"

"Don't worry about such rumors." Sasuke shut Danzo up with a single burning look, "I'll be taking care of everything concerning my brother. You should focus your worries on getting rid of the decaying smell in your house."

Danzo sputtered out a string of apologies, his jowls wobbled as he spouted out hollow words. The man continued all the way until Sasuke left and rode off in a carriage.

Sasuke rubbed his forehead, such an infuriating man. He'd have to deal with him eventually too.

"Sasuke-san, are you ready for your next meeting. We have to discuss the future proceedings of dealing with the Hyūga clan." Sasuke's assistant, a young boy named Inari asked in a gentle voice. He trusted the boy, he was loyal and wasn't easily swayed.

"No, I'm going to have my brother go in my place."

"Huh?" Inari blanked. Short circuiting at his masters words.

"I'll explain soon, we'll meet with Shisui first. We have to make sure he's at the meeting, he's essential to my plan."

Inari jotted down everything as Sasuke spoke. He didn't know what his master was planning but he was nervous, he hoped it worked.

* * *

The second night without Naruto proved even harder than the first. Sasuke knew it would be which was why he was grateful that he had set a plan in motion. Itachi wanted to be king of their clan, in his deluded mind he truly believed himself to be exactly that-a king. He had once been but now that position belonged to Sasuke. No matter what others thought that was the title he had inherited from Itachi when he fell in battle. So Sasuke hatched a scheme that would use this weakness. He had made Shisui- a man that he knew his brother explicitly trusted despite his mixed up mind- and had him bring news to itachi. News that itachi wouldn't be able to ignore. He had Shisui divulge what had happened to Hinata and the threat that Neji had sent. (The threat hadn't actually arrived yet but Sasuke expected one any day now so he had had Inari fabricate one.) He knew his brother wouldn't allow Neji, a man who he hated even in his previous sane state, to make any claims against naruto. His brother would call a council and want to discuss it. Sasuke had secretly allowed his loyal councilmen to meet with itachi behind his back. The ones he didn't trust would be fooled right along with itachi.

With his brother away that left Naruto all alone just as Sasuke had planned. He snuck out his room. A strange feeling it was to sneak about when he was a king and didn't ever need to ask permission or worry about his whereabouts. But not today. Today he wasn't acting as a king he was just a dominant trying to get back his submissve.

He knew the halls better than anyone else. He thought back to the time when he was a young nine year old boy and had looked for Naruto all over the palace in a bid to "expose" and "confront" naruto. Now here he was years later looking for Naruto in order to gain back his love. He traveled through the palace and stopped in front his brothers room. Two guards, the same guards he had seen at Naruto's side earlier that morning were standing at attention on either side of the door. One pulled out a kunai and the other pulled out a ball and chain.

Sasuke tsked, "I'm dissapointed. You're the best my brother could get to guard my submissive?"

"Naruto-san is Itachi-sama's submissive you have no business here. Leave before I kill you!" One of the guards seethed.

"The words of a traitor should be silenced, don't you agree?" Sasuke feigned a smiled at the guard who kept silent. In the same breath he ignited his hand with fire and thrusted it through the guards chest. He slid it out, blood coating his hand as the slain guard crumpled to the ground. His ball and chain he had so fearlessly wielded a second ago laid discarded at his side.

The other guard took a step back. His back against the wall. He quaked in his boots but he still kept a ferocious glare trained on Sasuke. "You were never our clans king! Itachi-sama still lives, even when he was in a coma he was the rightful ruler. The only traitor here is you!"

Sasuke waited for the man to finish ranting. A kindness he only bestowed upon him because he subconsciously wanted to hear out what his clansmen truly thought of him. Many accepted him but he knew there were still some loyal to his brother. He couldn't blame them, some of those men had lived there whole lives loyal to Itachi. He never punished them for being unloyal but if any of then stood in his way he'd strike them down.

"Have a good journey on your way up to Kaguya." Sasuke put his hand through the mans chest and stepped aside as the guard fell forward. He gurgled out a curse and then slumped into a heap on the floor.

Truly, they were not worthy to carry the name of the Uchiha clan.

Sasuke bent and wiped his hand on one of the guards. Cleansing himself from the bloody mess. He stood. He was suddenly nervous. Naruto was on the other side of that door. Was he alone? Would Itachi really leave Naruto with only two guards while he was away? If he did his brother was foolish. As if the universe had heard his doubts an array of guards came stampeding towards him from down the hall. There were about seven, all masked and carrying various weapons.

"That's more like it." Sasuke ignited both his hands and stood his ground. Adrenaline coursed through him. He was momentarily offended, was this really all the men itachi had assigned to protect Naruto? Naruto deserved more and much better. He threw fireballs into the incoming crowd. He managed to take out two men, the other five were smarter and dodged out of the way. He braced himself, he would win but it'd be a time consuming fight-time he didn't have. Out of nowhere he heard a bomb go off. It took out three men. They blew up right in front of his face. Their innards exploded all over the pristine walls and floor. He whipped his head around, where had that blast come from?

He saw the culprit sprinting down the hall right towards him behind the remaining men. Deidara. He was smiling wildly, and had two floating butterfly shaped bombs in his upturned palms.

"I'll take care of the rest of these assholes! Go to my cousin before that crazy demon comes back!" Deidara threw one of the butterflies blowing up one the traitorous guards legs. The man wailed in pain, he threw a kunai at Deidara which the submissive easily dodged and retaliated by throwing a bomb and blowing the mans arm off.

Sasuke smirked. So this was Deidara in action. He had been wrong to ever question if Deidara was a capable guard for Naruto. He was a killing machine. Any other day he would've stood and watched the submissive blow these men to smithereens but Naruto was waiting. He saluted Deidara and went into Itachi's sleeping chambers.

The room was dark except for a couple of candles that were littered randomly around the room. In the muted glow of the light Sasuke could make out Naruto's prone form on the large bed. He laid there, a translucent sleeping robe and a short white juban was all he wore. He was far too exposed for Sasuke's taste. Here in another dominants sleeping chambers Naruto should be covered. It irked it but that was the least of his worries. He walked in short quiet steps, alert and cautious just in case Itachi had another guard hiding somewhere in here. He didn't sense any other presence so he dropped his guard once he arrived at Naruto's side. His bent to his knees, overwhelmed to be at Naruto's side once again.

He paused and listened to the sounds of Naruto's breathing. Asleep like this he looked so serene. His pillowy lips slightly parted, and his scarred cheeks flushed as he took labored breaths. Of course it was hard for Naruto, he was heavily pregnant and unknowingly didn't have his dominant to calm him. His serene face was a facade to the turbulent storm brewing within him.

"Love," Sasuke called out in a quiet voice. He brought his hand up and placed it over Naruto's swollen stomach.

Naruto stirred. His eyes blinked the sleep away and locked onto Sasuke's black orbs. That voice was the same one calling for him in his dreams. That beautifully tortured voice...

"Sasuke-san?" Naruto's eyes strayed to Sasuke's hand. "What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here." Despite his words Naruto made no move to remove Sasuke's hand. In fact he seemed to be reveling in the feeling of Sasuke's hand on his stomach. This was the feeling of a bond Naruto thought passively. But why did he he feel it with Sasuke-san? He had felt it earlier too. But then Itachi had said something that made him feel dizzy and he had forgotten all about it. But the memories of that morning seemed to be coming back thanks to Sasuke's hand on him.

"Do you want me to go then?" Sasuke asked quietly. He shouldn't be wasting time like this, he knew it. Itachi could come at any moment and then all of this would've been for nothing but he couldn't force Naruto even if it was a brainwashed version of Naruto.

"No, I don't." Naruto revealed, he looked as confused as he sounded.

They locked their gazes. Naruto not moving and Sasuke obeying. They stayed that way for a minute. Their bond was strong enough for Naruto to feel it Sasuke knew it or else the submissive would've never allowed him to touch his pregnant belly.

"I'm confused." Naruto murmured. He hesitantly put his hand over Sasuke's on his stomach, he closed his eyes and basked in the feeling. "When Itachi tried to touch me my son burned him with purple chakra. But with you...he's calm. Why does he behave like you're my alpha?"

"Because I am, love." Sasuke thumbed Naruto's mating mark, "I am yours and you are mine."

Naruto eyes fluttered open, this was so wrong but his body was agreeing with Sasuke's claim. Yes, this alpha was his and his body knew that he belonged to him. The inkling of a bond that he could feel buzzing just with Sasuke's proximity was stronger than the bond he had felt with Itachi ever. Naruto felt it earlier too when he had met Sasuke in the hall but now he knew he hadn't imagined a bond it was real and it was there no matter how faint."Kiss me, Sasuke-san."

Sasuke came undone at the request. His submissives approval was everything. He grabbed Naruto's face and gently pecked Naruto's pink lips. It was soft and built up gradually in seconds. Sasuke licked swaths along Naruto's bottom lip. He sucked it into his mouth and then kissed him softly again. Claiming the sweet lips as his. He opened his eyes and stared into Naruto's tear filled eyes. Sasuke pulled away, alarmed by the sight.

"You're crying? What's wrong, love?!"

"I missed you!" Naruto hugged his alpha tight against his chest as if it had been years that they'd seen each other. His memories had all come flooding back. Every single one. He littered Sasuke's face in kisses, not leaving a single spot untouched. Sasuke kissed naruto back just as fervently. They lost themselves, taking in each other's scent for a long awhile.

_"I'm so sorry, I'm so ashamed I forgot you!"_  Naruto sobbed into Sasuke's chest, switching to his mother tongue with the surge of his emotions,  _"I'm mortified at some of the things I said!"_

_"Shh, it's okay. It wasn't you who said them. It was my brothers version of you."_  Sasuke rubbed circles into Naruto's back, using Naruto's language too.

Sasuke licked up the trail of Naruto's salty tears, letting the submissive cry his heart out.

After a few minutes Naruto sucked in a shaky breath, his tears had run dry. He laid back down and pulled Sasuke so that the alpha came down with him. Sasuke hovered so that his weight wasn't resting on Naruto nor his protruding stomach which housed their son.

_"Make me yours, make love to me,"_  Naruto kissed Sasuke's lips, languidly, no rush. Lips meshing together in familiarity.  _"I need to feel you."_  Naruto panted against Sasuke's mouth.

Sasuke nodded. There was no rush but at the same time there was. There was an urgency between them that was ringing in their ears. It was the need to claim each other all over again.

Sasuke rested onto his knees. He rolled Narutos short juban up around his chest then peeled off Naruto's underwear. Naruto's legs shook slightly as he did so. Anticipation dominated his very core. Sasuke bent and kissed Naruto's open lips then lifted Naruto's legs up so that he was as bent as he could be which wasn't a lot because Naruto's hanging stomach got in the way. He admired the pretty sight of Naruto's flowering opening, it was wet already. Inviting Sasuke to enter it. It was probably a whirlpool thing, naruto was the only male submissive that Sasuke knew who could self lubricate. He hadn't noticed it at first but over time he had realized it. He bent and kissed the wet bud. Naruto's stomach fluttered.

_"I've missed you so much, my love."_  Sasuke kissed up Naruto's thighs, his round stomach, his rapidly rising chest, then his bonding mark. He licked the mark then bit down on it. Naruto keened, his alpha claiming him and biting his sensitive bonding mark made him want to cry. The love he felt for Sasuke was surreal.

Naruto trapped Sasuke against his body with his legs. A silent plea to enter him. Sasuke used the wetness seeping out of Naruto to coat his fingers then plunged two into him. He moved them in and out easily. Naruto hugged sasuke, quiet vows of love spilled pass his lips as Sasuke moved his fingers in and out.

_"Inside, Sasuke."_  Naruto demanded breathlessly. Rocking his hips up desperately to get Sasuke's fingers deeper.

Sasuke withdrew his fingers, they were sticky, he mindlessly tasted them. Sweet-he refocused his attention back on Naruto when the submissive gave out a needy small whine.

_"Please, Sasuke."_

Sasuke rubbed Naruto's trembling thigh as he grabbed his dick and lined it against Naruto's hole. He slid inside in one easy thrust. He sighed as Naruto's heat cocooned him. It felt like coming home.

_"I feel so full, so happy!"_  Naruto cried as he clung to Sasuke,  _"I love you, Sasuke. I love you so much I could never love another alpha the way I love you!"_ Naruto's lips, pink cheeks, belly and everything about him seemed swollen with readiness and Sasuke loved it.

Sasuke hummed in pleasure. Naruto's words were like a lullaby. Promises that soothed his inner beast to the point of submission.  _"I love you too, Naruto. I always have and I always will love only you."_  Naruto was like a beautiful shining light in his life without him everything was devoid of color. Sasuke had known this but he had never known just how dark it could get without Naruto there.

The light of his life, his beautiful sovereign.

* * *

"What are you going to do to them?" Deidara hissed from his tied up position on the floor.

He had been standing guard outside Itachi's room just in case more guards came. He'd risk his life and fight them all in order for his cousin to get his true alpha back. He needed it, what itachi had been doing to Naruto had left his mind loopy. It was messing his mind up. Sasuke was the only one who could fix him. Deidara was confident that he could stop every single guard that confronted him, they were weak, all of them were except for him...Itachi.

Deidara had put up a fight but the alpha was strong and cunning, he had easily outsmarted him, pinned him against the wall and tied his arms together so that he couldn't aim his bombs even if he made them.

Itachi closed the door. The sight of his brother making love with Naruto was imprinted in his mind. It wasn't necessarily the sex but the words that they had exchanged. He hadn't known that a bond could be so deep. It stirred something foreign inside of him. It reached far past the storm of betrayal that had clouded his mind and plunged it into darkness and pulled forth the remnants of his true self. His brother had told him, pleaded with him that he had never loved a submissive the way he did Naruto and Itachi had believed it too when hi brother had desperately told him that in a pleading tone. But seeing it was different than just hearing it.

No matter what he did Naruto would never be his. Naruto loved Sasuke more than anything. Probably even more than him self. Such selfless love which wasn't grounded in only lust or obsession was too pure to ever be swayed.

"I'm not going to do anything to them." Itachi sighed, his head was pounding. His head felt as if it had just underwent a grand metamorphosis. It had felt like two entities had been battling inside his mind ever since he had woken up from his coma. He had boughts when he felt truly himself but all that had happened during those moments were blurry. He could recall scattered images and snippets of conversations but they were all a jumbled mess in his mind.

"Huh!?" Deidara exclaimed.

"I'm not going to do anything to them," Itachi repeated, he went over and untied the submissive. Deidara eyed the alpha warily, Itachi didn't look insane anymore...he didn't sound crazy either. Was this the other Itachi that he had gotten a glimpse of when he had escaped from Itachi's wrath that morning? "There's nothing to do, Naruto's heart belongs solely to my brother. No jutsu in the world could ever erase that."

Itachi was saying what Deidara already knew. He rubbed his bruised wrist as he glared Itachi down. No matter the reason for Itachi's sudden bout of sanity he still was on alert. The last time he had been alone with Itachi he had almost been killed. If Deidara remembered correctly the "sane" Itachi only came out for a brief moment and then the crazy one would come back out.

"You don't have to be so guarded, I'm not going to attack you." Itachi couldn't really remember this submissive. He knew basics like that his name was Deidara and that he was related to Naruto. His only true memory of Deidara was staring into his watery blue eyes seconds before putting him under his mangekyo.

"How do I know that?" Deidara took a step back and produced a clay bomb. "You're not exactly trustworthy."

Itachi hung his head, "what I did to you, I'm sorry. I would never attack a submissive ...I can't remember it all but...I've done a lot that I can't ever take back and for that I am truly sorry."

Deidara gaped. He was about to say something but then itachi walked away. His head slightly bowed as he stalked down the hall.

Deidara hated him but in that moment as he watched Itachi's retreating back he couldn't help but feel a little bad for the alpha. He was such a lonely looking demon king.

He hated itachi, he truly did. But not for what he had done but for making him feel bad for him.

It was a startling feeling, to feel sympathy for a demon. An alpha who had tortured him and imprisoned his cousin.

He felt it though...

_Only a little._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are close yall very close. Thank u to all who leave kudos and comments hehehehe I adore u guys!
> 
> Also if you want more of this genre of fic I am posting a new short story you can find it in my stories list! 
> 
> See you all next chapter ><


	13. Never Quite As It Seems

If an outsider were to take one look at Haku they would think that he was a delicate submissive who was accustomed to being around only pretty things. His small features, pale soft skin that looked like it'd bruise if touched too harshly, and short stature gave off the impression of a sheltered submissive royal. But that was far from the truth. Anyone who truly knew Haku knew that he wasn't a delicate flower that bruised if handled too roughly and he definitely wasn't accustomed to only being around pretty things. He had grown up in a country where being tough was the expected and as a result he had been subjected to not so "pretty" sights many a times. It wasn't widely known but behind closed doors he was the most ruthless out of his infamously savage brothers. It took a lot to scare him so the sight of his "sister in laws" puckered up empty eye sockets greeting him at the breakfast table that morning didn't faze him. However what did faze him was how angry his "husband" looked. Neji was sat at the head of the table. His milky white eyes, which had been intently focused on Hinata's empty eye sockets, hadn't strayed away not even once since he arrived to the table a few minutes ago.

Neji looked so infuriated that Haku loved it. He was getting off on the dizzying powerful aura of anger that Neji was letting off. He could confidently say that this was the first time since he had met the Hyūga king that he was genuinely attracted to him. It was like that time his beloved Sasuke destroyed half of Neji's face with his flames. The raw power of a strong dominant was unlike any other; it instinctively made his body quiver. It didn't even matter that Hinata's eyes were mysteriously missing; Neji's aura masked that insignificant matter. Haku was even a little scared but not scared enough to ask the seething king exactly how Hinata had lost her eyes.

"What has happened to my darling sisters eyes?" Haku piqued. He delighted in the fact that his question had made Neji's angry aura intensify even more.

Neji's eyes dragged away from Hinata's puckered up ones. "Those damns Uchiha's you idolize plucked them out of her head that's what happened!"

"Brother, please." Hinata quaked quietly. Her eyebrows drew up creating a sorrowful expression. If she had eyes Haku was sure they'd be rimmed with tears. She was weak like that, always crying. Apparently weakness was a genetic trait every Hyūga shared. Hinata's show of weakness was all an act, he was well aware of that but she was still weak for even sinking to the level of hiding her true self and living in the guise of a typical weak Hyūga.

"The Uchiha's did this?" Haku felt his pulse quicken. He knew Sasuke was a powerful alpha but the absolute ruthlessness of what he had done to Hinata made his insides tingle with butterflies. He loved the man. He cursed the fates, as he always did for pairing him up with Neji. Yes, Neji had faintly just attracted him a moment ago but that had been obliterated by Sasuke's daring feat. He wished he had been there to actually see the moment Sasuke had gouged Hinata's eyes out.

"Sasuke-san did it right?" Haku's eyes sparkled. At the mere mention of Sasuke's name the scar Sasuke had given him tingled. He loved the scar. It was a badge of honor to sport such a strong dominant's wound.

"Hinata can't remember who did it, all she can recall is that he wore a mask."

"Oh," Haku's excitement simmered. Even if Sasuke hadn't done it himself it was still his orders since he was the king of the Uchiha clan. But still he liked to imagine that it truly was Sasuke who had plucked Hinata's eyes out. He could vividly imagine the blood sticking to Sasuke's pale fingers; Haku wished he had been there so he could lick the ruby droplets off them. "What are you going to do to them?" Haku asked pointedly. Neji was a weak dominant but not even a weakling would stand by and allow for their blood sister to be defiled the way Hinata had been.

"I'm going to kill him and that submissive of his he loves so much! He'll learn my pain when I slaughter his precious bitch!"

Haku moaned. The bloodlust firing out of Neji was tantalizing. But he'd be damned if he let Neji kill the dominant he loved.

"How do you possibly plan to stop Sasuke-san?" Haku mocked, as if the mere possibility of Neji winning was hopeless, "even if you could somehow beat him there are rumors that Itachi has returned. I heard there's even a celebration this weekend to welcome his return. You could never beat two Uchiha dominants, you couldn't even beat one without cheating and the other left your face half unrecognizable." Haku giggled.

Neji lunged, ready to strike Haku but Zabuza got in the way before he could strike. Haku let out another giggle; his eyes screwed shut as he threw his head back and laughed. "Thank you, Zabuza."

The stoic bodyguard grunted and returned to his position, which was standing forebodingly behind Haku's chair.

"Don't worry about how I'm going to do it." Neji collected him self, "It's not Sasuke I'm really after, all I want is his precious submissive. I'm going to gouge his eyes out and then gift them as presents to the Uchiha king. After that I'll cut the baby out of Naruto's stomach and put a kunai through its heart."

The imagery was pleasing to Haku but the impact it'd have on the man he loved was not.

He touched the puckered skin of his scar...

_Decisions, decisions._

* * *

"It has been getting terribly hot these past few days." Deidara commented as he retrieved a lightweight kimono from Naruto's closet, "I was thinking I could dress you in a summer kimono." Deidara adopted a playful expression, trying to lighten Naruto's mood, "well at least what these northerners call a summer kimono."

Naruto nodded absentmindedly, smiling a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes at Deidara's spot on observation. Here in the north any breathable fabric counted as a "summer kimono." He rubbed his belly as he watched Deidara walk over with a red and gold 'kimono' made of chiffon and silk.

"Has he...do you know if Sasuke returned yet?" Naruto asked in a small voice.

Deidara's face grew somber. It had been four whole days since Naruto had regained his memories and nothing had been the same since. Naruto himself was as in love with Sasuke as he had been but Naruto's attachment to his alpha had turned...extreme. It physically pained his cousin to be apart from Sasuke. Deidara had seen a bond this severe only once in his life and it was between an omega who had lost her alpha before she got her first heat. She was destroyed by his passing and eventually killed herself in order to follow him to the afterlife. To say Naruto's current state worried him was an understatement.

"He has yet to return." Deidara bit his lip as Naruto let out a concerned whimper, "it's still early though so it's not out of the ordinary for him to not be back yet."

"He said he'd come early to walk me to the temple. He should've been here already!"

"Don't fret, cousin." Deidara sat beside Naruto on the bed and held his hand, trying to soothe him. He knew it wouldn't do much; the only one who could calm Naruto right now was his alpha. "You know he's running late because of his father. Things are so tense these days between them."

Things in the palace were not the only things that had changed. The relationship between the Uchiha family had gone through a metamorphosis. It had become abundantly clear that Fugaku favored his eldest son, it had flamed rumors that Fugaku planned to make Itachi the new ruler of the Uchiha clan. None of it had been confirmed yet but even Deidara had an inkling of worry that the old Uchiha king would be capable of doing something so terrible. "Tomorrow is the day Itachi-"

Naruto tensed which caused Deidara to pause. Itachi had been locked away receiving medical treatment for the last few days. He had admitted himself to the care of the Uchiha doctors. No one had seen him since then. Naruto had not discussed the alpha either. He was a sore topic. It was for Deidara too. He couldn't get the image of the lonely demon king walking away with his shoulders hunched as if he wanted to fold into him self and disappear from the world out of his head.

"Tomorrow is the day of Itachi's return celebration." Naruto finished Deidara's statement.

"Yes, I have no doubt that Fugaku and Sasuke are discussing tomorrow's events at length. It takes time since they are not-" Deidara paused again, looking for the least harsh word to describe the strained relationship between Sasuke and his father, "they're not on the best terms these days. Itachi-san's return has, as you know, changed a lot."

"Itachi-san..." Naruto's face crumbled, he appeared as if he were going cry. Deidara grabbed both of his cousin's hands, this was the first time he had seen Naruto show outward emotion about the older Uchiha brother since the whole incident.

"Don't cry, cousin." Deidara wanted to get a peek inside Naruto's head, just to see the thoughts whirling around inside it. What did he think of all that had happened and was currently happening with Itachi? Naruto had clearly been affected and yet he would not speak about it-well at least not to him. One thing he was sure of though was that Naruto was hurting over Itachi.

"I'm not crying," Naruto forced his tears away, "help me dress. I want to go pray."

A silence ensued as Deidara helped Naruto ready himself. There was no point in asking; Naruto had been too traumatized to speak on it yet. It was early morning, the open window allowed the sound of chirping birds and a cool breeze to waft into the quiet chambers. This was routine. Deidara readied Naruto each morning in this manner but ever since the incident this routine had begun to feel tense, like Naruto would shatter any second.

A loud bell rang, echoing through the silent room.

"We better leave or else we'll be late for prayers."

The two omegas treaded through the palace, out into the busy sunny streets. Four heavily armed guards trailed behind, ready to strike in case someone drew too near. It was a stark contrast to the past where Naruto would walk the joyous streets while waving at the Uchiha people and even allowing some to hug him.

"It's so nice to see the gardens in bloom." Deidara took in the view of the lush gardens around the temple. Vines of flowers twined around the thick temple pillars. A gold statue of Kaguya stood proudly erected in the center. Her three eyes were made of pearls, gazing powerfully and unafraid ahead like only a goddess could do.

Naruto kneeled on the slightly worn out velvet pillow that was laid out for visitors at Kaguya's feet, Deidara did the same. He wasn't interested in praying but it was out of respect not for the sacred mother but for Naruto and his yearning for calmness in order to pray that made Deidara kneel.

The temple maid, who had been standing dutifully in the corner as she always did, quietly lit the candle cradled in Kaguya's cupped hands, it was always to be burning when one prayed. As were your eyes always to be closed, hands clasped, and head bowed-which Deidara did all of except close his eyes. He couldn't, when he did he saw that wretched image of Itachi's retreating back. His eyes wandered around the temple and ended up settling on Naruto. His cousins lips moved quickly as he prayed, his hands were clasped so tight that they were tinged white. Naruto was seven almost eight months pregnant, that position surely must've been hard on his knees. What did he pray for so passionately? Was it Itachi? Deidara wanted to protect his cousin. Naruto wasn't physically weak, he knew that, but Naruto was weak in a different way. He was emotionally weak. He loved too easily and trusted too quickly. He had always been that way. That's why he could cry for a demon that had assaulted him like Itachi. Naruto was much younger than him so Deidara had always been in that protector role. Naruto's own alpha sister didn't and probably would never protect him so Deidara took it upon his self to fill that older alpha role. After so much time of keeping Naruto safe he couldn't allow his feelings of sympathy for a demon alpha to undo all the years. If he gave in he'd be weak too. At the moment he needed to be strong for both him and his cousin.

After an hour of praying they headed back to the palace.

"Welcome back, Naruto-sama." A maid greeted as Deidara and Naruto trudged through the palace front doors. "Breakfast is ready. Would you like to have it in the dining room or would you like it sent up to your room?"

"Neither, I'm too tired to eat."

"Again? B-but Naruto-sama you're pregnant you should eat!" The maid protested. Naruto kept walking along, much too tired to reply; "Our clans future heir resides within you, if you don't get adequate nutrition-"

"Shh, I put herbs and supplements in his morning tea." Deidara lied, "He and the future heir will be just fine don't you worry." Deidara gave the maid a reassuring smile.

"Oh...okay. Thank you, Deidara-kun. Our sovereign has not been his self these days. Thank you for staying by his side and watching over him."

"Of course, I'd never leave his side." Deidara bowed and ran off to catch up to Naruto. He was happy he could calm that maid down. He wanted to protect his cousin from everything-even nagging maids.

"I'll be right outside if you need anything." Deidara drew the curtain, bathing the room in shadows and darkness. Naruto hummed, his eyes were already closed as he lied in bed. He was dressed down to only a thigh length white chiffon slip that was patterned with pale lilac flowers on it. It was much too hot to wear a traditional night slip without the breeze of the night air. Deidara kissed Naruto's forehead, his cousin was already fast asleep or so he had thought because Naruto suddenly roused. His eyes focused on Deidara, he appeared to not have even noticed the kiss.

"As soon as Sasuke comes wake me, please."

"Of course." Deidara smiled. He would have even if Naruto hadn't ordered him to.

"Thank you." Naruto closed his eyes again, drifting off into what Deidara hoped would be a pleasant dream.

Deidara stepped out. He took his standard position at the front of Naruto's door. He expected Sasuke to come within the hour but when three whole hours passed he began to worry. Just as his worries began to stress him out he smelled a familiar scent.  _Fire flowers_. The scent would always remind him of a certain alpha and that alpha was Itachi.

He looked up and saw a maid tottering by with a bouquet of fire flowers arranged in a woven white basket. She gave a half bow when their eyes met then continued on her way. Deidara was half disappointed that it wasn't Itachi. He quickly blasted the blasphemous thought out of his head. Why did he want to see Itachi? He didn't want the alpha anywhere near him! He sighed and leaned against the doorframe. He wished he could stop thinking about him. As if Kaguya had heard him the one man Deidara didn't want to see turned the corner, walking right in his direction. Deidara couldn't help but hungrily take in Itachi's appearance. It was shocking, Itachi had finally emerged from hiding, it was like seeing the holy mother herself descending from the skies. Itachi looked better than Deidara thought he would. His long hair was untied, hanging over his broad shoulders and swaying as he stalked forward. As he came closer Deidara noticed that there were bags underneath Itachi's eyes, he looked sullen. As if just existing exhausted him. So this was what an alpha that had been rejected by his intended mate looked like.

_How horrible._

That feeling of sympathy slithered its way into Deidara's heart. Before he could stop his self Itachi's name slipped passed his lips. The alpha looked to Deidara's direction. His gate stuttered, he hadn't noticed Deidara.

"I'm relieved to see you're well."

Itachi raised his brow; "you care about my well being after all I did to you?"

Deidara came back to his senses. He stood straight, adopting a stern expression in the process, "I don't care. I'm only concerned because of what your absence has done to my cousin. With your return he might be able to go back to how he was before."

"Oh," Itachi's face turned even more glum, "even in my absence Naruto suffers, it seems that's all I can do-make him suffer."

Deidara had the overwhelming urge to comfort the alpha but he forced himself to remain still. He couldn't let his feelings control him, "will you be going to the party tomorrow?" Deidara changed the subject before his restraint gave out.

"I'm not sure, I was on my way to go talk to my father about that among other things." Itachi sighed, "If I do I suppose I'll see you there."

Deidara nodded. He was unexpectedly happy that Itachi was going to go.

"Some of my memories have been coming back..." Itachi's eyes closed, just by the way he spoke Deidara could tell the influx of memories were a burden for him, "what I did to you, the things I said... It wasn't me. I'm sorry."

"You've already apologized." Deidara's restraint was giving out. He wanted to show warmth to this alpha.

"I know but I did not know the entirety of what I had done back then. Now I know so it's only appropriate to apologize again. The memory of me using my mangekyo on you haunts me."

"I forgive you, Itachi-san." Deidara could not show the alpha physical kindness but he could allow this little truth to slip out.

Itachi smiled, his sullen face for once was appeared happy but Deidara could tell it was a farce. It was fake happiness. It was too much for Deidara. "I'm going to go check on my cousin, if you decide to go I'll see you tomorrow, Itachi-san." Deidara bowed and escaped into Naruto's room. Itachi didn't have time to reply. As soon as Deidara closed the door he pressed himself against the door frame and sunk to his knees. His put his hand over his heart. He didn't really believe in the power of prayer but for the first time in his life he was desperate. He clasped his hands, bowed his head, and prayed to Kaguya to make him strong enough to overcome these feelings.

For the sake of his cousin and him self he prayed that Itachi found something to make him truly happy so that he could finally stop feeling sorry for a demon.

* * *

"There has still been no word from the Hyūgas, we should strike before they can!"

"That's exactly what they want, they stay silent because they want us to rush in like fools!"

"They're cowards they would never do something like that! They stay silent because they fear us!"

"Quiet!" Sasuke hushed the squabbling men of his council, "the Hyūgas are many things but above all else they are arrogantly proud. They will attack, do not doubt that."

"I agree with, Sasuke-sama." Shisui declared. "To even question if the Hyūgas will attack is preposterous."

"Then what holds them!? They should've retaliated by now! I have my men on standby, they grow restless waiting!" Obito growled heatedly.

"Perhaps they seek the most opportune moment?"

"The opportune moment is now while Itachi-sama is recovering!" Danzo boldly stated.

The councilmen loyal to Sasuke glared at Danzo for insinuating something so rude. The old man had basically implied that the Uchiha clan was weak and therefore an easy target while Sasuke was in charge. Ever since the possibility of Itachi being reinstated as king became known Danzo had been showing where his loyalties belonged to day by day

"What?" Danzo eyed his peers as if they were the ones out of line, "it's true, Fugaku-san would agree with me, isn't that right Fugaku-san?"

Fugaku remained quiet. He agreed, they all knew it but would this be the moment he finally admitted it out loud?

The door swung open, casting the spotlight off Fugaku and onto the three people who had entered the room.

Two guards held a small submissive by both of his arms. His head was hung, a cascade of tangled brown hair hid his face in a shadow. He wore an all black traveling garment. It was caked in dirt, soiled as if the submissive had lived in the outfit for a awhile. On the collar of his suit top there were four slanting lines- _falling rain._

"We're sorry to interrupt your meeting Sasuke-sama but we apprehended this submissive in the outskirts of our clan territory. We were going to question him but he demanded to speak with you. He says he has information to tell you about Neji Hyūga."

Some of the members of the council gasped, wondering whom the mysterious submissive was.

"Raise your head,  _Haku._ " Sasuke had figured it out almost immediately. It was the Mist country symbol embroidered on his top that confirmed the submissives identity. He only knew one submissive from Mist country that resided here in the north and that submissive was Neji's crazy bride, Haku Hyūga.

Haku raised his head. A loving smiled fanned across his red lips as he gazed right into Sasuke's eyes. "I missed you."

"I almost didn't recognize you without that hulking bodyguard you tote around not behind you. What did you come all this way to tell me? It must be important if you traveled so far without your pet."

"I don't need him, I can defend myself. He's more for show." Haku iced over his hand, in the process the guards arms holding him also froze over. The guards let out a startled scream.

"What did you do to us!?"

Haku rolled his eyes, "stop crying, it's disgusting." To the astonishment of the council Haku melted the ice away just as easily as he had produced it. A submissive that could use jutsus was always a startling sight here in the north. Not to Sasuke though, he was used to it. No jutsu wielding submissive would ever be able to surprise him, how could they when Naruto amazed him enough for one lifetime?

"I didn't bring him because it wasn't an option. I snuck away from the Hyūga clan in the dead of night."

"Why do that?" Danzo looked Haku over with an excited feverish look in his old eyes. He was attracted to Haku's power.

Haku glared at Danzo as if were a simpering pig, he was a disgustingly weak looking dominant, "A very simple reason," Haku turned his gaze to Sasuke, a loving look settled in his honey brown eyes, "I love your king."

The councilmen stared at Haku, astonishment coloring all of their faces. They weren't sure what to do with the information. It was scandalous to even think of Sasuke with another submissive. Was this their king's mistress? No, Sasuke didn't look so keen to the submissives declaration of love so that couldn't be it. As they tried to figure the situation out Fugaku looked Haku up and down calculatedly, like a pawn he had not been aware was even on his chessboard.

"What is it that you want to tell me, Haku?" Sasuke glared. He had thought that scar he had given Haku would at least make the crazy submissive realize that he would never love him but he looked as obsessed as ever.

"I came to heed a warning. I am loyal to power and you Sasuke-san are the most powerful dominant I've ever met. My husband plans to seek revenge, I have traveled nonstop to deliver you this news."

"What does he plan?"

"To harm that blond submissive you rejected me for. I could care less if he dies, he is not worthy of you, but if he does it'll ruin you and I cant risk that."

The room grew quiet.

"Do you know when he plans to attack?"

"He didn't trust me enough to ever tell me. But he has many things planned for Naruto. He wants to rip your child out of Naruto's womb and thrust a kunai through its heart."

"I see," Sasuke glared, his anger piqued over the fact that the Hyūga bastard had the balls to even think he'd ever let that happen, "Is that all you have to tell me?"

"Unfortunately yes." Haku was in heaven, sniffing up Sasuke's angry scent.

"Do you want us to put him in the dungeon, Sasuke-sama?" One the guards offered, more than willing to put Haku away in a cold dark cellar.

"No, take him to a sleeping chamber. Assign him a maid to help him bathe and comb his hair. He deserves at least that for coming to tell us Neji's plans. But have his window barred and guards at his doors posted at all times."

"Yes sir." The guard obeyed with a disappointed frown. "Follow us, Haku-san."

"Visit me later, Sasuke-san." Haku blew a kiss to Sasuke then went after the guards.

"Its exactly as Sasuke-sama said, the Hyūgas plan to attack!"

"So they are going to attack in secret without any declaration of war? Should I have my men start marching?"

Sasuke shook his head, "didn't you hear what he said? Haku said Neji plans to attack Naruto. That means he won't march his army over here, he'll send a small group, possibly even one person. His goal isn't war it's revenge. The only person who needs the protection of your men is Naruto. Select a group you deem worthy and then call off the rest of them."

"Call off the army? That's insane!" Danzo yelled. "We should seek Itachi-sama's council, he knows how to deal with Neji better than any of us!"

"As does Sasuke-sama or have you forgotten he beat the Hyūga king in a duel!"

"Enough," Sasuke yelled, "fighting amongst ourselves will get us nowhere. What we need to do is have guards on Naruto at all times and postpone the party tomorrow until the Hyūgas attack. If we don't it'll be the perfect setting for them to hatch their plan."

"Nonsense, the party  _will_  take place. We won't halt our lives just for the Hyūgas. Your brother will have his celebration." Fugaku dismissed Sasuke.

Sasuke stared at his father. He knew his father had and always would favor Itachi but it still bothered him. His father had made him king, whether he liked it or not. He hadn't asked for it but now that he was king his father should respect him since he was the one who had forced the title onto him. He had been undermining him and the decisions he made ever since Itachi had awoken. It was the exact thing he had feared would happen. The councilmen looked away as the old king and the current king locked eyes. The tension was palpable.

A rapid knock sounded on the council room door. Not even a second later a messenger came bursting in. He hurriedly bowed twice, "forgive me for intruding but Itachi-san sent me! He would like to have a word with you, Fugaku-san!

"Itachi sent for me?" Fugaku looked away from Sasuke, as always his attention was entirely dominated by his eldest son.

"Yes, he's out in the dragon tea room waiting for you!"

"He's come out of his room? Fugaku stood up. As if possessed he left the council room leaving Sasuke and their conversation behind.

The messenger bowed, apologizing again for interrupting then exited.

The council meeting couldn't continue even if Sasuke desired it. The councilmen were restless; their attention was consumed with what Itachi's emergence back into society meant and what had prompted it. Even his loyal councilmen were distracted. He couldn't blame them, He was interested too. He hadn't seen his brother at all. He hadn't even tried to. A part of him felt guilty about it. He loved his brother, well, the man who used to be his brother before all the craziness happened. In a way he felt he owed it to Itachi to at least go to him and hear from him. The problem was he didn't know what state of mind Itachi was in right now. His brother had willingly secluded himself and stopped all advances on Naruto. Sasuke could only hope that meant that Itachi had regained his sanity. But something like that sounded too good to be true.

"I'll adjourn the meeting. You may all leave."

The councilmen bowed and began to leave one by one.

"What about the celebration tomorrow? Is it cancelled?" Shisui questioned.

"No, my father will have the party whether I want it or not."

"Your brother is my best friend but your fathers loyalty to him is becoming borderline treacherous. It's not right."

Danzo eyed them, no doubt to gather everything said so he could report it to Fugaku later.

"It is but nothing can be done."

Shisui followed Sasuke's gaze where Danzo sat smiling a faint fake smile. The old man was like an example of Sasuke's words. There were too many disloyalties to do anything. The Uchiha clan was divided. Unless Itachi him self came forward and renounced his desire to be king many of the Uchiha people would always be loyal to him.

It was Itachi's birthright to be king and unfortunately for a regent like Sasuke he hadn't been born as lucky.

* * *

The sky was heavy with dark clouds. Rain spilled from the black sky, wetting the earth and making the air frigid. Lighting snaked out every once in awhile. Striking close but never close enough to actually strike him. Naruto was frozen solid to the ground. He was on his back with his eyes wide open, looking up at the tumultuous sky. He heard a song drift over the harsh winds. The song was lulling, pulling him from his hazy dream like state. He sat up, stretching his arms as if awaking from a deep sleep. He brought his hand to his belly as he always did and immediately screamed. His stomach was flat; he could see his lacquered geta and tabi covered feet. He hadn't been able to see his feet since he was four and half months pregnant. He began to hyperventilate. Where was his son!?

He jumped up, light on his feet now. "Where is my son!?" Naruto screamed but his voice was swallowed by the howling wind. He wildly looked around; he was in a field of flowers. They were beautiful fire flowers, shining brightly even in the muddling rain. He heard the song again, somber and melodic and yet still loud enough to reach Naruto's ears over the whipping wind. Where was the song coming from? Then he saw the source. It was a man, a lonely beautiful alpha with red eyes and long black hair.  _Itachi-san?_  What was he doing here? An instinctive sense of fear overcame Naruto. What Itachi had done to him traumatized him. He had made him forget his mate, if he did it once he could do it again! Naruto crouched, intent on hiding but then he realized something. If Itachi was the only one here then Itachi had been the one to take his baby! Anger prickled Naruto's skin, he jumped back onto his feet and ignited his hand with a rasengan. He ran, a primal yell spilling from his lips. The urge to kill consumed him. Itachi turned and locked his eyes on his. Naruto instantly stopped. He crumpled to the ground. The song began to play again. It was such a sad song it made Naruto's heart clench.

"Where is my son?" Naruto cried, his rasengan withered, "why did you take him?" Naruto's voice grew small, he felt like he was being swallowed by a wave, everything was muffling out. Even Itachi was fading away.

Itachi frantically shook his head. He was on his feet now, fire burning in his hands as he said something that Naruto could not hear.

"Why did you take him from me?" Naruto sobbed as everything turned black. "I trusted you! Why did you betray me!"

Naruto woke up with a start. He had the feeling that he had just had a bad dream but he couldn't remember what it was about. It had been happening a lot lately. He absently rubbed at his stomach, it was a habit he didn't know why but he sometimes felt like one day he'd go to touch his stomach and the swell would no longer be there. He only wanted that to happen after he gave birth.

The room was dark, no light filtered through the heavy curtain meaning that the sun had already set. Naruto felt the onset of a panic attack settling in. Sasuke was still not here! He struggled to sit up, whipping his eyes around and then stopped when he caught a flash of color. Red eyes shining like rubies in the dark.

Naruto whimpered, he stretched his arms open, "what are you doing over there, come to me!"

Sasuke had been watching him sleep, protective as always. He had been more so than usual lately.

Sasuke crossed the room and enveloped his submissive.

"I missed you," Naruto murmured into the soft fabric of Sasuke's chest. Sasuke laughed, the baritone of it warmed Naruto's heart. He loved that sound.

"I just saw you last night, love. How could you possibly miss me?"

"The day feels too long when Sasuke isn't here." Naruto replied as he snuggled closer into Sasuke's chest. He was trying to imprint the scent on to him.

"I know what you mean." Sasuke ran his hand through Naruto's hair in a slow and calming manner. "I've missed you too."

Naruto had always been clingy, but since the Itachi incident he had reached a whole new level of codependency. He craved his alphas presence. He needed him next to him or else he felt uneasy.

"You were watching me sleep again?" Naruto kissed Sasuke's jaw. "Why? I'd rather you lay beside me."

"My suspicions were confirmed today. Neji's targeting you."

Naruto was quiet for a second, he smiled suddenly, "let him come for me then. I feel safe when I know those red eyes of yours are watching over me." Naruto kissed Sasuke's down turned lips, peppering his alphas serious face with kisses.

"Naruto, this isn't something to smile about, it's serious!"

"I remember that I used to hate this color," Naruto mused as he dragged his fingers around Sasuke's eyes while completely ignoring Sasuke's reprimand, "this blood red color that used to remind me of my terrible sister but now," Naruto leaned forward and gave Sasuke a slow and languid kiss, he let his lips rest against Sasuke's as he looked up and saw Sasuke's red eyes boring into him, he pulled back slightly, "it's my favorite color in the world now because of you. It makes me feel safe and warm."

Sasuke melted; Naruto was so very good at calming him. He had been tense all day, dealing with so much that he felt on edge but Naruto easily eased it away. "I'm happy I can make you feel that way," Sasuke kissed Naruto again, just as slow as Naruto had kissed him, "you make me feel the same way."

Naruto smiled against Sasuke's lips. "Lay down with me?" Naruto took Sasuke's hand in his and pulled him to lay down beside him. They were quiet for a few moments, breathing in each other's scents after being apart all day. They kissed a few times, soft kisses that built up into more passionate ones, small pecks, and wet kisses with sucking. All kinds of kisses ensued until they were both satisfied.

"Did you feel that?" Naruto turned his face just as Sasuke tried to recapture his lips.

"Feel what?" Sasuke muttered distracted as he tried to kiss Naruto again but was rebuffed for the second time when Naruto sat up which made him completely miss and kiss the air instead.

"This," Naruto grabbed Sasuke's hand and laid it flat against his belly, "feel your son growing inside me, he's restless tonight."

Sasuke smiled, a warm radiant kind of smile that was rare. Naruto only got glimpses of this smile when Sasuke was very happy. He absolutely adored it. "Is he always like this?"

"It depends. One time I had Dei-nii put his ear to it and he said it sounded like water whooshing in there. Orochimaru-san told me it's normal for an energetic baby to move like that."

"So he takes after you?" Sasuke teased, "I want to hear him too, can I?"

"Of course you can, why would you even ask!" Naruto lay back against the soft pillows; he lifted his chiffon slip so that it was bunched over his stomach.

"You've gotten bigger." Sasuke observed amazed. He rubbed at Naruto's protruding stomach. The lines of his tattoo appeared almost stretched. Was it normal to be so big? "It's beautiful." Sasuke kissed Naruto's round belly then lowered himself so he could put his ear against it. He lay on his side in between Naruto's parted legs.

Naruto blushed; Sasuke had never done this before. To have his alpha so close and listen to the child they had created together made him inexplicably happy.

"I can hear him!" Sasuke exclaimed, "He sounds like he's dancing." Sasuke laughed, he pressed his ear closer, fascinated by the swooshing sound.

"I think he likes your voice, try saying something to him." Naruto urged, just as excited.

"Hmm," Sasuke thought for a second, "my son, I love you." Sasuke and Naruto shared a smile when they saw the baby move, his still forming appendages rose against Naruto's skin creating a rippling effect.

"Say something else!"

"Your mother is very beautiful, you will be lucky to call such a submissive your mother." Sasuke whispered to the belly, the baby moved instantly as if trying to get out.

"He loves you." Naruto beamed, he rubbed the side of his belly as he gazed lovingly at Sasuke while he continued to listen to their son. "I love you, too."

Sasuke kissed Naruto's belly. "I love you both." His son had protected Naruto from Itachi. How? Sasuke had no idea but he did know that his son loved him enough to know who his real father was. The fact that he wasn't even born yet and already loved him warmed Sasuke's heart.

Naruto caressed Sasuke's cheek, "I know."

Sasuke placed his ear back over Naruto's belly. As he listened to his son move he remembered Haku's words. Neji wanted to silence his son forever by cutting him out from Naruto's belly and ramming a kunai through him. Sasuke growled, angry all over again just by thinking about it.

"Whats wrong?!" Naruto sat partially up as he glanced around the room to see what could've possibly angered his alpha.

"It's Neji. He said he'd kill our son by cutting him out of you and stabbing him!"

Naruto reigned in his own predatory growl. He ran his hand through Sasuke's hair to calm him down, "I told you already, nothing will happen. I'm safe as long as I have you."

"Neji won't stop, he's a cheater. He'll find a-"

"Shh," Naruto ran his fingers through Sasuke's hair in a circular motion, "sleep, don't think of anything unpleasant, you had a long day."

Sasuke's eyes reluctantly drifted closed. Naruto's calm crooning and nimble fingers playing with his hair entranced him.

_"Sleep, my king."_

And Sasuke did.

* * *

"So, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about, Itachi?" Fugaku regarded his son as if he were a shiny artifact. When he looked at Itachi he didn't see a person, he saw an ideal king for his clan. He was an ideal and not a living person. "I assume you want to discuss the proposal I sent you?"

"Yes, the proposal amongst other things." Itachi sighed wearily. He pulled the folded document out from his pocket and unfolded it so that it laid flat against the table. The proposal quite plainly stated that-"you want me to re-take my position as king of the Uchiha clan?"

"Yes." Fugaku agreed as if Itachi merely saying that aloud was fueling his desire. "Your brother did as well as he could but no one can lead our clan like you. Your brother stepped into the king role because there was no other choice, I needed to bind the Uzumaki's to our clan. They are now bound; their son is having our clan heir. You are back, this is the perfect moment for you to take your rightful place as ruler."

Itachi sighed again, his fathers words settled heavy on his mind, his father shared the same beliefs that had plagued his mind only days ago. "And Naruto, you expect me to marry him?"

"Yes, it's just as you wanted right? I'll let you have him." Fugaku boasted.

His parents had been the one aspect he had worried about back when his mind was drowning in rage. He had wondered how he'd be able to get his father to give him Naruto. The problem was he didn't want Naruto anymore…no he did but it wasn't an option to want him. "He isn't yours to give, he belongs to Sasuke."

"Your brother foolishly fell in love with that submissive. He wasn't ever truly his to begin with. Besides I have other plans for Sasuke. There's a submissive from the bloody mist that's in love with your brother. I've never liked the bloody mist but it'd be wise to bind our clans together. Imagine, we'll gain a powerful ally and take away the Hyūgas most powerful one in the process. It's perfect."

"Naruto is surrounded by light that is beyond my reach. No matter what you do he will never leave Sasuke's side and Sasuke will never marry another submissive. I've seen their love, they're destined." Itachi snatched the proposal and bunched it up into a ball. He ignited it, burning the paper in the palm of his hand until it was nothing but ashes, "I don't want any part of your proposal. I've had enough."

"What do you mean you've had enough!?" Fugaku bellowed.

Itachi stood. "Tomorrow at my celebration I'll announce my support for Sasuke as king and put an end to the divide in our clan. Good night father."

Itachi stalked away. He was tired, far too tired. He hadn't felt like himself for a long time. Guilt over what he had done to Naruto and his brother led him to isolate him self but even in seclusion he was wrought with pangs of guilt. All the anger he held for his brother vanished that night he saw him with Naruto. How could he stand between love like that? Betrayal drove him to insanity but his reaction to the betrayal drove him to the guilt-ridden existence he was currently suffering in. He didn't know how to fix it but he knew one thing he didn't want to be king. He didn't even want to be in the Uchiha clan anymore. He wanted to go far, far away and let his heart heal. But first he needed to make things right here.

As Itachi walked an image came to mind, of a pretty submissive that was as strong as any alpha. With hair the color of a daisy and a temper as hot as the sun.

Deidara.

The submissive was the one who made him feel the guiltiest. He had tortured him for who knew how long with his mangekyo. It made him want to hide his face forever he was ashamed. To harm a submissive was something he did not believe in. Before he left he had to make things right with all but especially Deidara. If he didn't his conscience would never rest easy again of that he was sure.

* * *

Sasuke fell asleep and woke up with his head on Naruto's thigh. Naruto's fingers were stroking through his hair, he could feel the swell of Naruto's stomach against his head. Their curtain was open and fresh air was wafting in, Naruto must've opened it at some point. It was pitch black outside, stars twinkled in the blanket of darkness that was the sky. Naruto was humming a soft tune, it sounded like a lullaby. The baby seemed to like the song as he could feel it suddenly jostle around inside Naruto.

"You like my singing, baby?" Naruto hummed happily to their child. "It's been awhile since mommy's sung to you, huh? You must've missed it." Naruto began to hum again, soft and calm like the wind gently blowing outside.

Sasuke blinked his eyes. He felt like he was dreaming, like he had woken up in an alternate reality where none of the craziness with his brother had ever happened and everything was right in the Uchiha clan.

But the swell of Naruto's stomach felt so real and Naruto's humming was so life like. He had never had such a realistic dream before...

"Naruto?" Sasuke hesitantly called out, he was scared that his suspicions would be confirmed and this really turned out to be a dream.

Naruto's humming abruptly stopped. He gasped, clearly not expecting for Sasuke to be awake. "You're supposed to be sleeping." Naruto chided. He dragged his hand through Sasuke's black locks as he spoke, "you've been awake since before the sun even came up, you need your rest. Go back to sleep."

Sasuke turned to face Naruto; his head was still nestled on Naruto's lap. As he eased his body into the new position he felt sluggish, exhausted even. He hadn't noticed it at all but his body definitely felt heavy, the way it did after he'd have a long spar with Itachi back in the day. "What happened? Am I dreaming?"

"You aren't dreaming." Naruto laughed but then turned serious, "You went a little crazy talking about Neji so I asked you to go to sleep"

"Neji," Sasuke's anger returned to him with the mere mention of the Hyūga alpha's name.

"Don't even think of him." Naruto caressed Sasuke's cheek, "I'm hungry, let's have something to eat."

"What do you crave?" Sasuke sat up; his attention fluttered away from Neji now that he knew his submissive was hungry.

"You." Naruto giggled at his childish joke.

"Seriously, tell me." Sasuke kissed Naruto's amused face.

"I want something sweet like cakes filled with azuki beans! Or maybe strawberries-wait no " Naruto rubbed his stomach as it let out a growl. "I want lemon tarts!"

"What is that?" Sasuke chuckled at Naruto's enthusiasm. It was infectious.

"It's a Whirlpool dessert my mom used to make for me and Karin when we were little. It's like a pie but so much sweeter and better."

"I can ask a cook to make it for you, maybe one of them knows how to make it."

Naruto shook his head, "No it'll be better if I make it and besides I don't want to wake them so late just because I'm craving something. Help me up."

Sasuke helped Naruto to his feet, he fetched him some indoor zori and an over robe. They traveled through the dark palace, only able to see by the spaced out burning candles that hung mounted on a silver candelabra on the hall walls. The kitchen was as expected, deserted. Sasuke lit a couple of candles. He sat back and watched as Naruto got to work. He helped occasionally whenever Naruto needed assistance retrieving something from the food closet. Naruto's cheeks and hands were caked in flour and his hair was messy when he was finally done.

"I'm so happy I remembered the recipe!" Naruto popped one of the sugary tarts into his mouth, his eyes turned up into two moon crescents as he smiled, "it's so good, I know you don't like sweets but you have to try one!" Naruto brought a tart to Sasuke's lips. "Please," Naruto's eyes practically twinkled.

Sasuke gave in; he parted his lips and let Naruto gingerly shove the sweet into his mouth.

"How is it, good right?"

Sasuke swallowed the ball of sugar down. He feigned a smile. "It's delicious."

Naruto let out a little huff of air, he hadn't been fooled, "it's okay if you don't like it. I'll just make them for our baby when he's old enough to eat food. Hopefully he'll get his mommy's love for sweets!"

Sasuke agreed. He hoped his son took after Naruto in every aspect. Another little ray of sunshine in his life would be nice.

The Uchiha couple ate the rest of their treat-well Naruto did as Sasuke watched him. It was nice and quiet until a slew of guards came stomping into the kitchen.

"Sasuke-sama, thank Kaguya we found you. We have visual on a carriage coming towards the palace!"

"A carriage?" Sasuke jumped to his feet, "is it the Hyūgas?"

"No, sir. It's a carriage from our sovereigns home country, Whirlpool."

Naruto looked at Sasuke, shock dominated both of their features. They hadn't expected any visitors from whirlpool.

"What should we do, Sasuke-sama? A foreign visitor coming this late has never happened before."

"Let's go greet whoever they are. Whirlpool are our allies, we should give them a warm welcome."

Sasuke went with the guards. Naruto went as well, waddling slightly as he tried to keep the hurried pace with the others. The carriage was already stopped in front of the palace. They got there just in time to see a carriage driver open up the carriage door. Out stepped a familiar red headed omega queen dressed in a beautiful blue kimono that shined in the moonlight along with her crown. Naruto pushed passed the guards who had formed a semi-barrier around him and Sasuke and enveloped his mother.

_"My baby!"_  Kushina cried as she hugged Naruto to her chest.

_"I missed you so much, mom!"_  Naruto sniffed his mother's scent, feeling warm and happy as he smelled the scent he had grown up with.

_"We didn't think you'd be awake."_  Kushina confessed as she grabbed both of Naruto's cheeks in her hands and got a good look at him.

_"We? Who else came?"_  Naruto asked excitedly.

_"Of course your father came."_ Minato announced with a flourish as he stepped off the carriage.

_"Daddy!"_  Naruto nearly sobbed.

The king of Whirlpool looked tired but all together happy as he took Naruto into his arms.  _"My little princess."_  Minato kissed Naruto's cheek.  _"I've missed you far more than you'll ever know."_

_"Welcome back, Minato-san."_  Sasuke stepped into the little circle of happiness that surrounded the Uzumaki's.  _"We weren't expecting you."_

_"We didn't plan on arriving so late but it's far too hot to travel during the day. We came for the celebration tomorrow."_  Kushina spoke for her husband.  _"We wanted to surprise Naruto."_

_"Oh, I wasn't aware you even knew of the party."_  Kushina was being civil. Sasuke was amazed. The last time he spoke with Kushina he was under the impression that she hated him.

_"Its all I hear being gossiped about these days of course I know! But to be honest we planned to come far before that, we wanted to see Naruto before Karin's coronation."_

_"Is that so? Well then I'm happy you came. Naruto's missed you terribly. Is Karin still in Whirlpool then I presume?"_

_"Yes, she's ruling in Minato's absence. It's good practice for her."_

_"That's too bad, I would've loved to have seen her."_  Sasuke lied. He was relieved he wouldn't have to be dealing with Naruto's brute of a sister. Naruto's parents were already more than enough.

_"We'll be sure to tell her."_

_"Come on in, you must be exhausted."_

The group of royals traveled inside to a tearoom.

"Sasuke-sama, do you want us to go wake Fugaku-san and Mikoto-san?"

Kushina made a face of distaste. She raised her hand to the guard, shooing him away. "Don't even bother. I'd rather deal with those two tomorrow when I no longer feel so haggard."

The guard looked to Sasuke to get his confirmation. Sasuke nodded, sending the guard away. Out of everyone in the tearoom he didn't want his parents in the room the most. His father disliked him and he wasn't so sure about his mother felt. She had remained quiet this whole time so he could only assume she was on his fathers side.

_"So, how was the journey?"_  Sasuke asked using the tone he did when dealing with kingly duties.

_"It was miserable. I'm just glad we've arrived."_  Kushina smirked, she looked Sasuke up and down,  _"you've changed. You've become a king."_

_"He's not the only who's changed,"_  Minato said as he gazed at his 'little princess.' In the light of indoors Naruto's bulging stomach was showcased making it easier to see,  _"you really are grown up."_  There was a pinprick of a tear at the corner of Minato's eye. It was almost like he couldn't believe Naruto was actually pregnant.

Naruto blushed; he put his hand over his belly.  _"Yeah, I am."_

_"You're bigger than I was when I was seven months along with you."_ Kushina eyed Naruto's tummy, she put her hand against it and closed her eyes for a second,  _"Are you sure you aren't expecting twins?"_

Naruto's eyes bulged,  _"No! Orochimaru would've noticed already if I were!"_

_"This Orochimaru person could be wrong,"_  Kushina rubbed her sons underbelly, trying to get a better feel,  _"you're carrying heavy. That only happens with twins."_

_"Twins are extremely rare in the Uchiha clan. None have ever been born from a reigning sovereign."_ Sasuke dismissed Kushina's suspicion.

Naruto bit his lip,  _"Twins would be so nice though. I've secretly been hoping it is twins because I want as many babies as Sasuke can give me."_

Minato cleared his throat.  _"Let's take small steps. One baby at a time."_

_"No, he's right. Although it's impossible twins would be nice."_ Sasuke smiled at his blushing submissive. He had no idea Naruto yearned for such a thing. It was adorable; he wanted to have as many kids as he could with Naruto too.

Minato glared at Sasuke.  _"One is more than enough for now, my son is still young."_

_"Sweetie, shush."_  Kushina calmed her alpha,  _"you don't understand us omegas. Once we get a taste of motherhood it's instinctual to want to produce as much as we can. If my womb hadn't hardened I would've given you more than two children."_

Minato stood quiet. He shared a look with Sasuke though which showed he still meant what he had said.

_"Naruto, I just noticed, why are you wearing such a thing?"_ Kushina tugged on the fabric covering Naruto's stomach.  _"You should be showing your belly!"_

_"Why would he be?"_  Sasuke intoned, annoyed that Kushina wanted Naruto to be showing his naked skin and also confused as to why she would even want that.

_"It's a custom for us Whirlpool omegas to show off our pregnant bellies. Only royal Uzumaki omegas are born with the stomach tattoo, it's a symbol of pride. We show off our belly because we have fulfilled our prime duty to our clan."_

_"So you want others to see Naruto's stomach?"_

_"That's the whole point. We want people to see!"_  Kushina tsked her tongue,  _"It's fortunate I brought you a gown for tomorrow's celebration. It'll show off your bump for all to see."_

Sasuke rubbed his temples; he'd have to deal with that tomorrow.

_"You look littler than I thought you'd be, I hope it fits,"_  Kushina said worriedly,  _"you need to eat more! Your stomach is the only part that's big on you, everything else is much too small!"_

_"Mom,"_  Naruto exclaimed as he suddenly remembered something,  _"I made lemon tarts, you have to taste them. I made them exactly as you taught me. They came out a little too sweet but they're still good. I was actually eating them when you and dad got here."_

_"I'd love to try them."_  Kushina smiled sweetly. She was happy; these Uchiha brutes hadn't ruined her son as she thought they would. Or at least as far as she could see. Naruto was thin but that could easily be fixed with food, she wanted to know of the changes that couldn't be seen with the naked eye. Last she heard there was an assassin on the loose that had yet to be caught. It worried her.  _"Why doesn't Sasuke go get them? That'll give us some time to truly catch up."_

_"Very well then I'll go."_  Sasuke moved to get up but Naruto latched onto his arm before he could.

_"No, I'll have a maid go."_  Naruto tittered as he tightened his grip.

_"That's crazy talk, let him go I want to have a moment alone with my baby!"_  Kushina frowned.

_"It's fine, love. I'll be right back. Be with your parents. You won't be able to have a quiet moment when all the guests arrive tomorrow."_

Naruto shook his head,  _"I can't let you go."_  Naruto was too attached to let his alpha part from him if it wasn't necessary, if he could go with Sasuke to council meetings he would.  _"Please don't leave me."_

Sasuke adopted a somber expression. His loves recently developed clinginess saddened him. It wasn't because Naruto was so needy it was because Naruto had become this way because of what Itachi had done to him. Sasuke suspected Naruto was scared of forgetting him again that's why he never wanted him out of his sight.

_"What's going on, honey? Let your mate go. He will be right back. This is ridiculous, all that just to retrieve some lemon tarts!"_

_"If he goes I'll go with him. I don't want him to go where I can't see him."_

_"What did you do to him to make him so dependent on you!"_  Kushina knew it was too good to be true. She tried to be civil and yet these Uchihas had still let her down.  _"My son is a strong Whirlpool omega, he should never be so dependent on his alpha!"_

_"Some things happened with my brother, things that changed Naruto. I'm sorry. More sorry than I could even express."_

Minato could see things were escalating, Kushina looked ready to attack and knowing her she would. His wife calmed him whenever he lost his cool and it was his job to do the same for her. He was angry too but to attack the Uchiha king would be unwise.  _"Let's call it a night. It's late and emotions are running high."_

_"Fine,"_  Kushina spat,  _"but we expect a full explanation of what your brother did to my son tomorrow."_

The Uzumaki's kissed Naruto goodnight and then were escorted to a sleeping chamber. Sasuke and Naruto went up to their bedroom as well.

Naruto snuggled into Sasuke's chest as they lay on their bed. Sasuke would leave in just a couple of hours for the daily morning council meetings then they'd both be busy with the celebration preparations. The upcoming separation was already giving Naruto anxiety.

"You know I'm not going anywhere right? You don't have to hold me so tightly." Sasuke was worried for his love. "Your parents are right to be concerned about you."

Naruto sat up, he was clearly offended by Sasuke's words, "what do you mean? Do you not want me to hold onto you?"

Sasuke quickly denied Naruto's accusation, "No, that's not it! I'm only worried for you. I know you suffer in my absence and I don't like it. It shouldn't be that way. You know I'm never far, I'll come back to you everyday."

Naruto lost his hardened expression; he wilted like a flower in the snow. "I can't help it, I'm terrified that I might forget you."

"That won't ever happen again, I won't let it." Sasuke assured. He circled Naruto in his arms, making a cage. A symbolic way to show that he'd protect Naruto from that ever happening.

"But you don't know that! We don't know what Itachi's like right now! For all we know he locked his self up because he's planning something else! The anticipation kills me! I feel on edge all the time and it's even worse when you're away!"

"Shh," Sasuke rubbed soothing circles in Naruto's lower back, "I had a suspicion but I had no idea it had this much of an effect on you." Sasuke didn't know what his brother was like right how, he himself wanted to know. It was time he put his cowardice aside and go visit Itachi. "I'll speak to him tomorrow before the party begins."

"He'll just turn you away. I've heard he turned Fugaku away twice already." Naruto sniffled.

"He might not. Today at the council meeting he sent for my father. The messenger said Itachi was waiting in a tearoom for him. He's finally come out."

"Itachi's out!?" Naruto felt panic eat at him, as if it devoured him whole it wracked through his whole body.

"Don't worry I'll speak to him for you. I'll gauge how he is mentally. If he's still crazed I'll fight him. If he's not-if that happens we'll see what he has to say."

Naruto shook his head, "I should speak to him. He needs to hear from me and I need to hear it from his lips too." Naruto put his hand over his stomach, he was scared but he needed to do it, "I want you to come with me though. I may be brave but I'm not stupid. I won't meet with him alone while I'm like this."

"If that's what you want then that's what we'll do." Sasuke wanted his submissive feel at ease so he'd do anything Naruto asked of him. "Let's go to sleep now, we'll both have a long day tomorrow."

Naruto lay down. He tried to go to sleep but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't. When he finally managed to sleep he had another bad dream. In it he had lost his son again and Itachi was there. Yelling something he could not hear. It was a desperate cry-a plea that Naruto yearned to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the continued interest and support >< I love u guys!  
> Not sure why but I really like this chapter I hope you guys liked it too~


	14. The Birth of a King

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to EVERY SINGLE PERSON who left me a lovely review. Hell, thanks even to the people who left hate lmao. This story is my baby (literally cringe worthy that I said that) but it is and it makes me so happy when people love this story as much as I do!
> 
> Enjoy the chapter my lovelies ✧ Only one more to go~

Naruto awoke as he knew he would, alone.

Sasuke had left earlier that morning. Naruto was half awake when he had gone; the sky was still heavy with darkness and only a few strings of light illuminated through the clouds. Sasuke had kissed him goodbye and left for the routine Uchiha council meeting.

A couple hours had passed since then. The sun was now fully out and shining as brightly as a summer sun always did. Naruto withheld the urge to cry. He felt so terribly alone. He wanted to go pray. He had had the dream again. He wished he could remember at least what it was about. When he tried to recall it only blurry images streamed through his mind. He rubbed his stomach. He felt the dream had something to do with his baby. It was an omen Kaguya was gifting him but he couldn't see it. He prayed to the sacred mother everyday to deliver him clarity and to show him what she was warning him about but no amount of prayer ever cleared his vision.

Deidara found Naruto deep in thought with both his hands over his stomach when he came into the room ten minutes later. Naruto didn't even rouse when the door thudded closed. He stared ahead at the wall like a life size porcelain doll that sat on a shelf never moving. The odd behavior never failed to worry Deidara.

"I'm glad you're awake." Deidara flitted over and closed the curtain. He could see by the goosebumps that covered Naruto's naked legs and bare arms that the cool sunny morning breeze was too cold for his cousin. "Did you sleep well?"

Naruto gave no reply.

Deidara hadn't expected one. He poured water from a pitcher into a bowl and set a towel beside it. He jogged over to the closet and picked out an all red chiffon kimono.

"Are you ready for me to dress you?" Deidara asked once everything was in order. He snapped his fingers in front of Naruto's vacant eyes.

Naruto blinked rapidly as he came out of his stupor. He hadn't even realized Deidara was in the room. "What did you say, Dei-nii?"

"I asked if you're prepared for me to ready you?"

"Oh," Naruto dropped his hands from his stomach, "yeah, I am."

Deidara quickly undid the buttons of Naruto's night slip and slid it off, "sorry if I'm rushing. Your mother asked me to hurry preparing you."

"My mother?" Naruto echoed. He had forgotten his parents were even here.

"Auntie Kushina has made you breakfast. She cooked it herself especially for you."

"So that means we can't go pray today?" Naruto was happy his mother had cooked him breakfast but prayer was important to him. It was the only thing that gave him sanity while Sasuke was away.

"No, there's no time for that today." Deidara was glad; Naruto had become compulsive with his prayers. It'd do him good to take at least one day off. "I'll pray to Kaguya in your place. You have much to do. You have to go greet some guests."

"They've arrived already?!"

A smile spilled across Deidara's lips, "yes, a very special guest and they're very excited to see you."

Naruto was anxious, who could this important guest be?

He asked Deidara numerous times as he readied him but his cousin remained tight lipped. All Deidara would say was-

"You'll see soon enough."

The instant Naruto stepped into the tearoom he was enveloped in a tight embrace. He already knew who the culprit was by their smell. He'd know his grandmothers scent anywhere.

Tsunade was the old queen of the Uzumaki clan. She was as tough as her daughter Kushina. It was obvious by their domineering brash nature that they were cut from the same cloth.

"My beautiful grandson," Tsunade kissed Naruto's scarred cheeks, "I'm glad I cut my trip short to come here and see you," Tsuande rubbed her grandsons rounded belly. "Look at you, you're the spitting image of Kushina. Feels like twins!"

"You think so? Mother said the same thing." Naruto blushed.

Tsunade closed her eyes and felt Naruto's stomach a second time, "I'm almost certain it's twins."

"It's not." Orochimaru slithered out from the shadows. His pale green skin looked even greener in the muted light of the tearoom,"I'm Naruto-sama's doctor. I can assure you he's not having twins."

"Orochimaru-san what are you doing here?" Naruto was confused. He didn't have a scheduled meeting with his obstetrician today. He wasn't supposed to meet Orochimaru until the end of the month. Naruto was also surprised that Orochimaru knew his mother tongue; Orochiamru had never spoken to him in it or had ever let on that he understood it. Was Orochimaru originally from the West or had he just spontaneously gained an interest in the language of Whirlpool?

"I came on orders from Sasuke-sama. He asked me earlier this morning to give you a check up before all the fun starts later today. He's concerned."

Naruto was shocked. Why would Sasuke ask Orochimaru to do that?

"Well, I am Naruto's grandmother and I'm also a doctor. My specialty is pregnancy and I'm well accustomed to dealing with pregnant omegas from Whirlpool. He's carrying heavy which means twins."

"I don't doubt your skill, your highness, but Naruto-sama's case is out of your abilities. You may be accustomed to diagnosing Whirlpool omegas but the child growing inside our sovereign is Uchiha. My specialty is Uchiha pregnancies and Uchiha's don't have twins."

"You've contradicted yourself, Orochimaru. The fetus growing in my grandson may be half Uchiha but it is also half Uzumaki and in the Uzumaki clan twins are not impossible to conceive." Tsunade was angry by the time she finished speaking, her blonde brows were furrowed and her pink lips stretched into a menacing glare. She appeared as if she'd growl any second. She was ferocious and unafraid like all Whirlpool omegas.

"This is no time for doctor visits. This is a family breakfast. Your presence has bothered my mother, leave us Orochimaru!" Kushina who had been seated at the head of the table beside her husband watching the whole scene unfold ordered.

"Forgive my intrusion, I'll be leaving then." Orochimaru bowed, "I'll pay you a visit after breakfast Naruto-sama."

The Uchiha doctor slithered out the room much in the same mysterious way he had come in.

"That's the doctor you told me about yesterday?" Kushina made an unimpressed face, "If I had known I would've had a doctor from our clan come here to personally attend to you!"

"I would've come myself if I knew!" Tsunade growled. "Your grandfather was worried about you being here pregnant without me by your side. I should've listened to him."

"Did grandpa come?" Naruto waddled to the empty seat beside his grandmother. With the help of Deidara he balanced him self onto the pillowed seat.

Tsunade grimaced at the mention of her mate, "your grandfather wanted to come but I didn't allow him to. He's much too old to travel such long distances. I don't even allow him to come with me on my trips. He does send his love though."

Jiraiya was the old king of Whirlpool. In his time he was the strongest alpha in the entire West. It was widely believed by the many clans of the west that Kaguya herself had crafted him from a template of what a true alpha should be. He was as feared as he was respected. He was most remembered for the way he had welcomed his son in law into the royal family. When Minato was a young man he had asked Jiraiya permission to be Kushina's mate. Kushina was already deeply in love with Minato but the custom of the west dictated that he must first ask permission of his intended omegas father. Kushina was a beauty and many alphas had asked for her but Jiraiya had never found one good enough for his daughter. Jiraiya had challenged Minato to three tasks and if Minato failed even one he'd have to give up and forget all about Kushina. Every alpha that had asked for Kushina had all failed. Minato had won all three and gained not only the permission to have Kushina but also gained the respect of Jiraiya along with all of Whirlpool.

Naruto frowned, "I haven't seen Grandpa in ages. Is he well, grandma?" The last time Naruto had seen his grandfather was right before his second departure to the Uchiha clan. The memory was grainy and all he could remember was his grandpa telling him to remember how he was raised to be strong while "fraternizing" with the "savages" of the north.

"His health varies, when I left for my trip he was having a good moment. I pray to Kaguya everyday that when I return he is the same."

"Let's say a prayer for my fathers health." Kushina linked hands with Minato. The rest of them followed suit until the gathered Uzumaki family were all linked by their hands. They bowed their heads. Kushina recited an old ancient prayer for wellness and then the circle was broken.

"Now let's start eating this food I woke up at the crack of dawn to make shall we!" Kushina called the maids in. They brought in gleaming trays of Kushina's home cooked meals.

"Naruto make sure you fill your plate!" Kushina eyed her son critically. "You're much too thin so eat as much as you can!"

Naruto didn't have to be told. He instantly became hungry as the various smells of the food he had grown up eating wafted in the air and into his nose. His mouth watered just smelling it. His mother had made all of his favorite foods there were even lemon tarts! He hadn't really been hungry lately and he definitely hadn't had breakfast the past few days either. He filled his plate until there was no room left on it and started shoveling food into his mouth at a rapid rate. Minato gave out a hearty laugh as he watched his baby ferociously eat and Kushina just smiled fondly. The mood was joyous until the entrance of the Uchiha family interrupted the Uzumaki family.

Mikoto and Fugaku walked into the dining room with Sasuke trailing behind them. Deidara glumly noted that Itachi was absent from the trio. Where was the alpha? Had he gone back into hiding? Deidara hoped not. The thought of Itachi holed up and alone again bothered him.

Naruto clambered up off his seat and went as fast as he could to Sasuke's side.

"I've missed you." Naruto tiptoed and kissed his alphas mating mark. His nerves were soothed in mere seconds just with Sasuke in his presence.

"As I've missed you." Sasuke bent his head and returned the gesture.

"Let's save those kinds of displays for behind closed doors shall we, Sasuke-san?" Minato glared at his son's alpha.

Sasuke obliged which in turn made Naruto pout for being denied the affection he craved from his mate. It did however make the Uzumaki king stop glaring.

"It's good to see you, Minato-san." Fugaku greeted Minato in his usual cold tone. "I heard you arrived late last night. A shame I couldn't personally welcome you."

"Truly a shame, I would've so loved to hear your welcoming words after my tedious long journey." Minato replied sarcastically.

"Come sit and join us, Fugaku-san. I've made plenty enough to share with all of you. It's all food from Whirlpool I hope you enjoy it." Kushina smiled. She was playing peacekeeper. She would be nice for now but that would soon change. She still needed to know what Itachi had done to her son to make him so dependent on his alpha.

Fugaku led his wife to the empty seats across from Tsunade. Naruto chose to move his seat so that he could sit beside Sasuke.

"You look well, Kushina." Fugaku noted.

"She does, as do you Minato-san." Mikoto chimed. "is that your mother, I see the resemblance? It's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard tales of your beauty while in my youth, you are still beautiful in your old age, Tsunade-san."

"Enough with the pleasantries," Kushina pinned Sasuke with a menacing stare, "now that you've finally joined us tell us what you withheld from us yesterday. What did Itachi do?"

"My son did noth-"

"I wasn't speaking to you, Fugaku-san." Kushina snapped, "I was speaking to my sons alpha."

"There is no need for such animosity, Kushina-san." Mikoto snipped.

"There is! I left my son with your clan and he's gone through nothing but hardships since then!"

"That is entirely my fault." Sasuke admitted somberly.

"I agree," Kushina hissed, "now tell me what your brother did!"

"He used his mangekyo to make Naruto forget me. He erased his memories and had Naruto believe he was his mate."

"He did what?!" Kushina screeched, "No wonder my son is so attached! What punishment have you issued Itachi? Why has the party not been cancelled? He doesn't deserve a celebration he should he incarcerated!"

"My son wasn't in his best state of mind so there is no reason for punishment."

"That's ridiculous!" Minato bellowed, "He assaulted my son so he should be punished! If another alpha ever dared to do anything similar to that in Whirlpool he would've been imprisoned for life!"

"Well we aren't in Whirlpool are we, Minato-san?" Fugaku retaliated cockily.

"Stop fighting!" Naruto pleaded, "Itachi-san has imprisoned himself in his room all on his own. He's barely come out of hiding yesterday but even if he hadn't I don't want him imprisoned! Even though what he did to me was traumatizing I don't blame him, I betrayed him and drove him to do what he did. Sasuke and I will be talking with Itachi-san later today so please don't fight or worry about it anymore."

The table occupants were quiet. Kushina and Minato were still angry but they honored Naruto's wish. Naruto was breathing hard, he was winded from the emotional turmoil that discussing Itachi brought him. It took a lot of energy to do menial things while he was so heavily pregnant but the strain was even worse when his emotions got involved. Sasuke noticed his submissives discomfort.

"Are you okay?"

Naruto leaned his body against Sasuke's, he felt drained of energy. He was both physically and emotionally tapped out. He did get tired fast but this was quicker than normal.

"I need a break," Naruto whispered to Sasuke so that he was the only one who heard. He rubbed his stomach. It ached. His son was moving a lot more than normal today. He had kicked him seven times already and it was barely noon! "Your son is tiring me, I think I need to lay down. Take me to our room I want to be alone with you."

"Okay, love." Sasuke helped Naruto to his feet. He secured his arm around Naruto's waist as Naruto continued to lean his weight against him.

"Where are you taking him?" Kushina startled, "he hasn't finished eating he can't go anywhere until he's done!"

"Naruto is feeling unwell, he needs some rest."

"He needs food that's why he's feeling sick!"

Sasuke sighed, "I appreciate your concern mother," Kushina was disarmed by the maternal name. It shocked her enough that she lost the mean look in her eyes. "But despite what you may think I care for your son deeply. Each hardship he suffers hurts me just as much as it hurts you. You may have known Naruto's needs when he was a child but I am now the person who knows Naruto the best. Right now he needs to lay down more than he needs to eat. I will make sure he eats after he's feeling better. I promise."

"You've really matured, you know that." Kushina sucked her teeth, she was bitter because Sasuke had spoken the truth, "take my son and make sure you keep your promise."

"Of course I will." Sasuke smiled slightly at the compliment.

Kushina got up and glided up to her son, she kissed his cheek. "I'll have your gown sent up to your room."

Sasuke bid goodbye to everyone on Naruto's behalf…everyone except his own parents. Even the Whirlpool king was warmer to him compared to his mother and father. He was used to his father but his mother's icy treatment stung him. So she really had chosen his fathers side? When he looked at her she always averted her eyes and when she spoke it was always to deliver orders from his father. He wouldn't focus on it right now. He tightened his hold on Naruto and together they made the trip to their room.

Sasuke laid Naruto down on the soft sheets of their bed.

"Lay with me?" Naruto murmured in a sleepy voice. He held Sasuke's hand and pulled weakly. "I feel so tired but I won't be able to sleep if I can't feel you beside me."

"You don't need to ask, I want to lay with you too." Sasuke cuddled up next to Naruto. He placed his hand over Naruto's belly and rubbed soothing circles. Naruto's eyes fluttered closed. He fell asleep for a little but was awoken when a harsh kick was delivered to his stomach. He lurched up and wrapped his arms around his stomach.

"Are you okay?!" Sasuke fretted.

"Yes, he's been kicking me all morning," Naruto winced. "I can usually handle it but he's kicking me so harshly like he's trying to get out. He's been behaving strange all day."

"Last night you were crying in your sleep," Sasuke grimaced as he remembered the event he witnessed, "I tried to wake you but you wouldn't. You kept saying, where is my son? It was nothing like I've ever seen before. That may be why he's behaving weirdly since we already know he feels when you're in distress."

"I did that? Why would I say such a thing?" Naruto gaped. So his dreams had spilled into reality. Was that what he dreamed about? He couldn't remember it so he didn't know why he would be asking about the whereabouts of his son. But it made sense maybe that explained why he always felt like one day he'd look down and his stomach would be flat. "So that's why you called Orochimaru-san? You were worried?"

"Yes I wanted him to check you over just in case." Sasuke rubbed Naruto's stomach, "you really worried me."

"Sorry." Naruto kissed his alphas cheek, "I didn't mean to."

A knock sounded on the door.

Sasuke kissed Naruto in return then reluctantly got up to answer the door.

"Sorry to disturb you and the sovereign during your alone time but I promised Naruto-sama I'd come check on him after breakfast." Orochimaru bowed. Standing behind him was his spectacled assistant Kabuto. Sunlight glinted off of his glasses as he quietly stood behind his master.

"Sure, come on in" Sasuke moved aside and let the doctor and his assistant in.

"You look a little better than you did this morning. How do you feel Naruto-sama?" Orochimaru set his bag of tools on the bedside table.

"I feel exhausted. He's kicking me a lot and he's pushed so far up against my ribcage it's as if he's run out of room."

Orochimaru lips quirked, "Is that so? That's no good. Our future heir should have more than enough room inside you." Orochimaru rolled his sleeves up, "Please lay down I'll check you over."

Naruto lay back onto the pillows. Sasuke stood at a distance and anxiously watched as Kabuto helped Naruto undo the top layer of his Kimono and slid it off.

Orochimaru scaled his hand over in slippery white scales. The jutsu was his prime tool, the sensors embedded in his snake like appendages allowed him to "see" fetuses through heat signatures and sound imaging. The first time Naruto had seen Orochimaru do it it shocked him but he was now accustomed to it. Sasuke on the other hand still found the white scales disgusting. He couldn't believe those were the hands that had pulled him out of his mother and would also in the future pull his child out of Naruto.

Orochimaru pressed his scaly hands against Naruto's stomach. "He's growing at an exceptionally rapid rate."

Naruto was uncomfortable, he disliked having others than his mate or family touching his belly but he bit his lip and bared it the way he always did during his check ups.

"So how is he? Is everything fine?" Sasuke questioned anxiously. "Did that dream I told you about mean anything?"

"Ah, yes the dreams." Orochimaru retracted his hand. He dispersed his jutsu as he spoke, "I wouldn't worry too much about that, your majesty. Nightmares aren't completely uncommon. As for all the kicking, your son knows it's almost time to come out. It's getting tight in there for him. Naruto-sama will be fine."

"So that's why?" Naruto frowned, "I thought maybe my mother and grandmother were right. I was hoping-"

"As I've said and will continue to say twins aren't possible."

Naruto hung his head.

"It's best if you stop hoping, false hope will only feed your unrealistic desire, Naruto-sama." Kabuto remarked. His eyes were still shadowed.

"I know I just wish I could give my alpha more."

"You've given me more than I could ever ask for. Don't think like that, love." Sasuke's eyes sizzled with sincerity as he spoke. He sat beside Naruto and rubbed Naruto's belly, "he's more than enough."

Orochimaru cleared his throat. "Now that I've assured that everything is in order my assistant and I must get going. Thank you for choosing to keep me as your doctor. Your family's doubts earlier this morning stem from their worrying for you. I'm glad you did not let them sway you."

"You've given me no reason to doubt you Orichimaru-san. Thank you you may leave." Naruto excused the obstetrician and his quiet assistant.

"What happened this morning?" Sasuke questioned.

"My grandmother and Orochimaru-san got into an argument of sorts. She doubts Orochimaru-san's abilities as my doctor."

"Orochimaru may be off putting but he has been my families obstetrician for years. I trust him." Sasuke's lips tugged into a half smile, "you Uzumaki submissives are very vocal about your opinions, huh?" Sasuke continued to rub Naruto's stomach, "if you give birth to a submissive he'll probably be just like the omegas of your clan; wild and fearless."

Naruto smiled, "and if he's a dominant he'll be just like you. I hope he gets the ability to use the sharringan. I love that red color so much."

"I'm sure he will, it's a dominant trait." Sasuke kissed along Naruto's neck. Sasuke flattened his hand, feeling Naruto's belly even more. He had made Naruto swollen with his child and at the moment he kind of wanted to do it again. What was it about knowing that his seed had taken root inside Naruto that excited him?

Naruto could sense Sasuke's new lustful mood. He responded to it instantly. He got turned on just by knowing his alpha wanted him. His scent began to leak out in waves as Sasuke continued to leave open mouth kisses along his neck.

"Do we have time for this?" Naruto wondered out loud. He swallowed thickly as Sasuke's breath blew into his ear.

"Yes, remember everyone thinks you're resting right now. We have time." Sasuke snaked his hand up Naruto's underskirt and between his thighs. Naruto moaned. Sasuke's fingers went straight to his entrance.

"I really should let you rest more since we have such a long day set before us but you're so tempting. You always are."

Naruto blossomed at the lust filled praise of his alpha. Sasuke's fingers were able to go in deeper, hitting the blond omegas prostate. Naruto keened. He gripped Sasuke's hand and pushed up in an attempt to get his alphas thick fingers deeper inside.

"Lay down, I'll give you what you crave."

Naruto sat back onto his fluffy pillows. He held his legs open by gripping them from beneath his thighs. It was hard work to stay in that bent position without doing so.

Sasuke withdrew his fingers and positioned him self between Naruto's spread thighs. He laughed suddenly at a now funny memory.

"Remember when I trained you for the first time and you came to the field in that revealing outfit that showcased your thighs?"

Naruto nodded shakily.

"I looked away because I didn't have the right to look upon your thighs back then and now I am the only dominant whose allowed to lay eyes on them." Sasuke bent and kissed a line up both of Naruto's supple thighs. The soft flesh felt so plump against his lips. He sucked the skin into his mouth, leaving bruises all over.

"Please," Naruto caressed Sasuke's cheek and brought his face up so that their eyes met, "enough with my thighs, put it inside me already."

Sasuke re-positioned himself. He pulled his hakama half down and freed his prick into the open air. He spat into his hand and rubbed it along his length. Naruto was already naturally wet enough to enter but Sasuke did it just to be cautious.

"Are you ready?"

Naruto grunted, urging Sasuke to get on with it in an animalistic manner.

Sasuke chuckled, "okay, I get it." He positioned himself at Naruto's entrance and was about to push into that glorious cocooning heat when a knock rapped at their door

Naruto made a sound of annoyance. "Don't answer it. Continue."

"As you wish." Sasuke pressed the tip of his head inside just as he got mid length inside there was another knock; this one was much louder and assertive.

"Open the door!" Kushina's brash voice commanded. Authority seeped out of her voice even through the thick wood.

Naruto's eyes cleared as if coming out of a fog. "What is mother doing here? She said she'd let me rest!?"

Sasuke growled, that damn women. Had they not reached an understanding? Apparently the claim of motherhood ran deeper than unspoken truces. Sasuke supposed it was a good thing, Naruto had more than likely inherited this extreme mothering trait. Their son would have a mother who loved them fiercely. "She's probably worried about you or something." Sasuke pulled his half submerged dick out and stuffed it back into his hakama. It felt wrong pulling out before coming inside his submissive. It actually irritated him. The feeling was unsettling, like he was missing his chance to stake a claim over what was his. Judging by the lonely look on Naruto's face Sasuke could tell his love was feeling the same way. Naruto wanted to be claimed, he felt empty. In a way he felt as if his alpha had rejected him by not coming inside him.

"Can't we finish?" Naruto pleaded.

"I'd love to but I'm not too keen on the idea of making love to you while your mother is so close by. And besides if we keep her waiting she'll knock the door down."

"Go then." Naruto glowered as he closed his legs.

Sasuke smiled despite how annoyed he was, "Don't pout, we'll continue as soon as she leaves."

"By the time she leaves we'll have no time. We'll have to go downstairs to attend the party. Don't promise me something we both know you can't do."

Naruto was angry and Sasuke knew better than to agitate him further. If they had time he would've calmed Naruto down.

"I'm sorry." Sasuke kissed Naruto's forehead then went and answered the door. Kushina stood at the entrance. She was tapping her foot as if she had been waiting for centuries. Deidara stood behind her. He was carrying two large decorated boxes stacked on top of each other.

"What do I owe this visit, mother? I thought I told you that I was taking Naruto to our room so that he could rest."

"I know that but guests have started to arrive. There is no time for sleeping. Naruto needs to get ready." Kushina stampeded into the room as if she herself slept there. "Deidara set the boxes on the table. I need you to-" Kushina paused. She sniffed, the heavy scent of arousal hung in the air. For the first time since she entered the room she looked at her son. His disheveled appearance and raised under skirt were telling enough, "so you brought Naruto up here to sleep, hmm?"

"That was my intention." Sasuke remained stoic in the face of his mother in laws accusatory question. "But Naruto and I had other needs that prevented the original plan of action from happening. If its any consolation Naruto did sleep for a little."

"You should've let him sleep more! This isn't the day to be fooling around! " Kushina sighed, "The smell in here is so strong I'm worried it'll attract my alpha and his reaction to it won't be as mild as mine. He might even kill you."

Naruto rolled his eyes from his position on the bed. "Daddy can't hurt my alpha, I won't let him. He needs to get used to the fact that Sasuke is my mate. I'm having his child so of course we do things like that together!"

"Yes I know baby but unfortunately I don't think your father will ever get used to the fact that you're all grown up." Kushina pointed at Sasuke, "You should go. Your scent is seriously too strong. Go take a cold bath."

"Sasuke can't leave!" Naruto voiced urgently.

"He has to baby. I have to get you ready and he will only be in the way. He has to go get dressed too."

"No he can get changed in here with me!" Naruto struggled off the bed and padded as quickly as he could to stand by Sasuke's side. He gripped Sasuke's hand tightly, "he stays or I go with him."

Kushina was about to resign when Sasuke unexpectedly sided with her. "Your mother is right, love. I need to go. If the guests are arriving then my father will probably want to meet with me before so he can go over some things."

"Who cares about meeting with Fugaku-san! Stay with me." Naruto implored.

"Remember what I told you last night? There is nothing to fear. I'm never far, I will always come back to you." Sasuke raised their linked hands and kissed the back of Naruto's hand, "I'll see you as soon as we are done, I promise. And this is a promise I know I can keep."

Naruto worriedly chewed on his lip, he knew Sasuke was right. He just couldn't shake the feeling away of forgetting his alpha. Sasuke said he'd never let that happen again so Naruto would believe in those words. "You may leave me but don't forget your promise or I won't forgive you."

Sasuke smiled. He kissed Naruto's cheek, "I'll see you soon."

Naruto grabbed Sasuke's haori collar and pulled him down. He kissed Sasuke roughly. He ignored his mother's furious stare and poured his love into the kiss. "You better."

Deidara blushed. No matter how many times he witnessed it he was still awestruck at the incredible amount of love his cousin held for Sasuke. Where did he generate so much love in such a small body? He was a little bit jealous. Naruto had found his soul mate and Deidara...well Deidara had no time to think of love.

Sasuke departed.

"Despite how insufferable he can be I'm glad you at least have an alpha who loves you." Kushina complimented.

"Thank you, mother." Naruto smiled a beautifully bright smile. His mother praising Sasuke in any way was rare so hearing it once in awhile delighted Naruto.

The loud bell abruptly sounded, echoing throughout the room and the entire palace. The bell tower in the center of town only rang on special days. It was usually sounded all day when a male heir was born but the bell was also used on other special occasions. Itachi's official return was one of those special occasions. The bell signaled the hour, the celebration had officially begun.

The bell chiming quickened Kushina's step. She hurried and opened one of the boxes Deidara had set on the table. She pulled out a beautiful shimmering gown. It was the color of the sky on a cloudless day. The gown had a long train that had stitched gold patterns of the sun on it. The sleeves were short and cupped and the top half was intricately beaded with a mosaic of shiny sapphires and diamonds. The defining aspect of the dress though was the midriff area. The gown was split in half so that the wearer stomach had to show. It was the traditional gown royal Uzumaki omegas wore during their pregnancy. Even though Naruto was supposed to wear red for his alphas clan the dress was light blue because it was the color of the Uzumaki clan, a traditional Uzumaki gown could only be the color of the Uzumaki clan.

"It's stunning." Naruto was in awe. He had grown up seeing his pregnant family members wear these gorgeous gowns. He had never yearned to wear one during his own pregnancy but now seeing the dress before him he was mad at himself for not wearing them everyday.

"It belonged to your great grandmother."

"Great grandma Mito wore it?" Naruto was only a toddler when his great grandmother had passed away. He had vivid memories of her long gray hair and wrinkly smile. His most lasting memory was of going to her tearoom with Deidara and having tea with her. She would educate them in her gravely voice about the proper etiquette of royal Uzumaki omegas. She would drone on and on and Naruto would most of the times fall asleep but he loved it. It was one of his favorite memories of growing up. He adored his great grandmother Mito so he was delighted that this gown belonged to her.

"She did, she wore it when she was pregnant with your grandfather Jiraiya. My mother wore it when she was pregnant with me and I wore it when I was pregnant with you and now you will wear it."

Naruto was full of emotion. He was so proud to be able to now wear the special dress that all of the omegas in his family had once worn.

"It's very beautiful, you're very fortunate to have such an honor, cousin." Deidara quipped.

"I didn't forget about you, Deidara." Kushina set the gown aside and opened the second box, "I bought you a dress too. You've been so kind. You came all the way over here to watch over Naruto for me. I bought you a gown from home too." The dress was all gold, it's sleeves were long lace. It had a train too but it was shorter than the one on Naruto's dress. The dress was cinched at the waist and the sides were lace like the sleeves so that the wearer's stomach was covered but their sides would show. It wasn't a dress for a pregnant omega but it was for an omega who was un-mated. A mated omega would never wear a dress that showed so much skin. The most striking part of the dress was the single sapphire embedded in the chest. It was simple and stunning. Deidara was a royal but he had never been graced with such an extravagant dress before. He had never craved to wear fancy dresses he preferred clothes that were practical and comfortable.

He bowed, "Thank you aunt Kushina. I don't know what to say, it's-"

"There's no need for thanks. You deserve it."

Deidara was happy until he realized a blaring issue, "How will I protect Naruto all day in such a thing?"

Kushina laughed, "Don't worry about that. Today is a day of festivities. Enjoy yourself! Besides Minato and I are here, no one can even lay a finger on Naruto. And my mother too she's old but don't let that fool you she's as strong as me! He's safer today than he's ever been."

Deidara didn't protest but he still had an inkling of worry. There was an ominous feeling settling in his gut. He casted his eyes to Naruto. His cousin was excitedly looking at himself in the mirror as he held his new dress up to himself. When he looked at Naruto he still saw him as his little baby cousin who'd follow him around.

Deidara knew to always trust his gut. His aunt was sure Naruto would be safe but just to be sure Deidara would keep a close eye on him.

The thing about the Uchiha palace was that it was much too big. Sakura had always thought so. Well not truthfully, at first she was enthralled by the grandness of it. It made her own palace she had grown up in look like a peasants hobble. There were so many rooms in the Uchiha palace that it'd take a very long time to visit each room. She had loved it and now she loved it even more since it'd be aiding her today.

Today was the day all her plotting would come to fruition. She could hardly believe that by the end of the day Naruto would no longer be a problem in her life. She had dealt with the blonde slut for months. He ruined her life. He had stolen her dominant and was now living the life that belonged to her. Just thinking about it set Sakura into a foul mood.

Sakura halted her step. She heard footsteps approaching. She tightened the black shawl over her head and pressed herself against the wall so she couldn't be seen. If she were to be it'd ruin everything. Absolutely no one could know where she was headed. If she were to be seen it'd compromise too much. Sakura remained hidden until she could no longer hear the footsteps. She emerged from her hiding spot. A victorious smirk printed onto her lips.

"I finally found you, rat." Plump pink lips parted to showcase a row of pearly white teeth, "I had to turn two guards into icicles and then shatter their bodies just to leave my room but it was worth it now that I've finally found you."

Sakura staggered back. She hadn't sensed any presence. It all made sense when she saw who it was.

"Haku." Sakura spat. He was an expert at hiding his presence. "So the rumors are true. You really ran away from the Hyūga clan."

"The best decision I ever made." Haku's grin broadened.

"And Sasuke accepted you into the Uchiha clan just like that? He allows you to walk this palace even though you are the bride of his enemy?" Sakura scoffed.

"Why wouldn't he? He allows you to stalk his palace halls freely and you are conspiring with his enemy."

Sakura gasped, a crack in her charade allowed shock to overtake her features, "Neji told you?"

"He didn't have to, I'm far more observant than he realizes. Sasuke-san doesn't actually know of your little plan. I withheld my knowledge of it from him because I wanted to be the one to kill you for him!"

Haku iced over his fingers. He directed them at Sakura. Kunai sharp icicles shot out from his fingertips. Sakura reacted quickly; she ducked but not fast enough. One of the icicles had sliced a cut into her cheek.

"It's laughable how weak you are!" Haku let the ice claim the rest of his hand and let it crawl all the way up his forearms. "You want to know why I call you a rat? It's because you're weak and insignificant and yet you've managed to survive all this time! Just like a rat scampering around!"

Sakura activated her own jutsu. Her hands glowed green as she got into a fighting stance. She was at a disadvantage. She wasn't a skilled fighter, the only way she was able to kill that bitch Konan was by using the element of surprise. That was her strong point; she was good at plotting things.

"You're going to die today. Sakura. Take pleasure in knowing that it was Haku of the bloody mist who will end your life."

Haku charged. Sakura wasn't going down without a fight. She ran straight on towards Haku. She closed her eyes right before impact. She expected to feel pain but she felt nothing. She opened her eyes to see what had stopped Haku.

"Danzo?" What was the geezer doing so deep within the palace? Party guests should be outside or in one of the entertaining tearooms while they waited for the other guests to arrive.

Danzo had gotten right in between them. The old man had both his arms extended in a motion for them to halt.

"Move or I will kill you along with her." Haku hissed.

"There is no need for violence on such a glorious day. We should all be rejoicing for king Itachi's return."

"Sasuke is the king! Don't speak such a disrespectful thing in my presence you weak old dominant."

Sakura backed up against the wall. Haku's attention was entirely on Danzo. This was the opportunity she had been hoping for. She dashed away before Haku could notice.

"It wasn't my intention to disrespect you. You're even more captivating up close." Danzo's eyes roved over Haku's iced over hands, "could I touch-?"

Danzo couldn't even get his question fully out. He had underestimated how rutless Haku was. Haku had sent an icicle flying straight into his heart. The old man gurgled out blood, his eyes stared at Haku as he dropped to his knees and fell face first onto the cold palace floor.

"I did tell you to get out of my way or else I'd kill you." Haku sank to his knees and propped Danzo's head up so that they could lock eyes, "I' would never let such a disgusting and weak old man touch me. Weak men like you don't deserve to live, I did this miserable world a favor by killing you."

Danzo's eyes rolled to the back of his head. He sputtered out some jumbled words then took his last haggard breath. As soon as he did his skin turned black. It looked like writing was twining around his wrinkled skin over and over again until it turned all black. Haku quickly sat up. He knew that jutsu, that old bastard-there was no way he was strong enough to possess such a jutsu! The jutsu was activated immediately after the jutsu casters death. It was a jutsu that turned the deceased into a poison. The ink on the skin released toxins in the air that paralyzed anyone in the dead persons immediate radius. The price for such a jutsu was that the ink ate away at the jutsu casters body. They would leave behind no corpse to be buried or mourned. In a few minutes Danzo's body would disappear. Haku tried to run but his legs were already frozen solid. His arms and neck were numb. "You fucking disgusting old man!" Haku cursed. If he was in his strongest form he could easily dispel the jutsu. He hadn't felt this weak in his entire life. He hated the feeling and even more so that an unworthy opponent had brought him to this pathetic state. As his entire body stiffened he realized something. The rat had escaped! He would've screamed but his mouth was already frozen shut.

A couple hours later a lone figure stalking down the hall paused in front of the fallen figure of the fainted submissive. The man kneeled, what had led to the submissives current state? His vitals were irregular and he was barely breathing.

The man scooped the submissive up. Whatever it was he'd find out.

Naruto stared at himself in the mirror. It was one thing to see the beautiful gown but it was a whole other thing to actually wear it. He felt like he was wearing a precious artifact-when he thought about it he kind of was. This dress was an heirloom from his family. His mother had chosen to leave his hair down, she had braided his bangs and twined white chrysanthemums through it and then clipped it to the side of his head with a single pearl pin zankashi. She said a simple hairdo was necessary in order to let the dress shine. Naruto agreed. The dress was so sparkly with all the jewels encrusted into the top and shiny suns on the train that an elaborate hairdo would've been too much. Even his make up was minimal. Only light rouge was dusted onto his cheeks and some shadow pigment applied to his eyelids.

"How do you like it?" Kushina watched her son look himself over in the mirror. She bit back tears. He looked so much like her when she was young. Her baby was all grown up.

"I love it." Naruto cupped his stomach. It bulged out in between the top and skirt of the dress. His naked tan belly was such a nice contrast between the blue silk of the gown's fabric. A prideful smirk made its way onto his face when he realized that everyone would see the tattoo of his seal. He wanted to embellish it even more by adding jewels to it to draw more attention to it.

"I know what you're thinking. I had the same thought when I first saw myself in the dress. Don't worry your stomach will be noticed by everyone."

"Auntie Kushina I'm not so sure about this I look ridiculous." Deidara huffed as he came out from behind the changing divider. "Look," Deidara turned to his side and showed off the see through lace hugging his hips, "If I exhale to hard I'll explode through the dress, maybe I should just wear my usual-"

"Absolutely not!" Kushina denied adamantly, "this is the first time I've seen you in such proper clothes. Be happy I'm not making you wear the geta Naruto has to wear! You'd trip! You look lovely enjoy it for just today."

"Fine." Deidara frowned.

"You really do look beautiful, Dei-nii." Naruto added.

"Compared to you? You look like the goddess Kaguya while I look like one of the serpents she sends to tempt sinners." Deidara smiled as Naruto got embarrassed.

"You really do look beautiful don't say that!"

"If you say so then i guess I'll believe it." Deidara laughed.

"Naruto, can I come in?" Sasuke's voice called from outside the door. Naruto stilled at the sound of his alphas voice. He excitedly waddled to the door and swung it open. He launched himself into Sasuke's arms, "you kept your promise. Good, now I don't have to be mad at Sasuke." Naruto leaned his head back and looked up. He closed his eyes and puckered his lips. Sasuke bent down and kissed his submissive. It was a fast and chaste kiss but it was enough for Naruto. He had been anxiously waiting for Sasuke and now he was back in his arms where he belonged.

"Are you ready? We have to go make our entrance into the party. According to my father everyone is waiting on us."

"Yes, I'm ready." Naruto took a step back; he posed with his hand clasped in front of him. "What do you think?"

Sasuke's eyes bulged. So this was the dress Kushina had mentioned last night? Naruto's stomach was on display for all to see. He didn't like it. Not at all, thinking of all the dominants out there in the party who'd get to see Naruto's belly made Sasuke growl.

Naruto's face changed from expectant to worried. "Why did you growl? Do you hate it"

Naruto look so devastated. Sasuke didn't want to make his love feel that way. Even though he hated that Naruto would go out in public like that he wouldn't say it. "No, I love it. You look beautiful." Naruto really did. The dress was sparkly and it was nice to see Naruto in his old clan colors. It was like memory of the past when Sasuke had first laid eyes on Naruto when he stepped out of his carriage and he wore his brilliant blue kimono looking like a little sun god. "You'd look beautiful in anything though." Sasuke was starting to like the dress the more he looked at it. He felt a sense of pride that other dominants would see how swollen he had made Naruto with the child they had created together.

"Sasuke looks beautiful in everything he wears too!" Naruto ran his hands against the expensive fabric of Sasuke's haori. It was smooth to the touch and it had the Uchiha symbol stitched in silk on the back.

"I wish my dress had the clan symbol stitched on to it too." Naruto pouted.

"It's not necessary," Sasuke kissed Naruto's forehead, "these red dots let everyone know which clan you belong too."

"He belongs to two clans don't forget that my lovely son in law." Kushina interjected.

"I would never," Sasuke smiled, "How could I when Uchihas don't have such bright hair? Every time I set my eyes on Naruto I am reminded from where he came."

Kushina returned the smile, "Maybe you're not so much of a savage after all."

That icy bitch had almost ruined everything. Sakura took a more discrete route as she continued her walk through the palace. After sneaking around for another extended period of time where she had almost been seen twice she finally made it to her destination.

The garden in the upper north wing of the palace was the most secluded place in the entire palace. It was like a hidden gem. No one came here so it was always alone.

At least it was supposed to be. There was a guard standing at attention. Sakura glanced around. He was the only guard stationed here. How annoying. He was young looking, a teenage solider.

"Good afternoon, Sakura-san." The guard saluted when he saw Sakura approaching. He shook his head as if scolding himself, "sorry, force of habit. I keep thinking of you as roya-"

Sakura sliced the guards neck in half. By the bewildered look in his eyes it was clear he hadn't expected that. Sakura wasn't a skilled killer and she couldn't control her jutsus as well as others but she was fearless when it came to killing. In fact she even delighted in it. It felt good letting her aggression out on others.

"You shouldn't have been here." Sakura told the guard. He was bleeding out, his skin held no color. He dropped into a heap on the ground. Sakura stepped right over the guard's body and went over to the edge of the garden where large rose covered bushes were located. She parted the bushes near the stream just as planned.

"Why didn't you kill him?"

"He wasn't worth my time." Neji was crouched inside the bushes. Two masked men sat beside him. His long hair hid his face in a dark shadow so that his white eyes appeared to be glowing in the shrouded darkness.

"I've completed my part now go do yours, kill that blonde bitch!"

"Shut up and finish your fucking job of getting me through the palace to Naruto without being seen then."

Sakura jumped up and down giddily. The bell tower rang. This was the second time it rang today which meant that the sun was going to set and when darkness came the actual party began. The bell chimed again. It was like a countdown to Naruto's death.

Itachi assessed the submissive. He used the common medical knowledge that he had stored in his brain to try and discern what had happened to the strange submissive that he had found fainted in the hall. He was able to conclude that the submissive was still alive but his vitals were way off. They were abnormal. Itachi didn't know if it was because of what had happened or if the submissive was sick before. There were so many possibilities.

Itachi set the submissive on his bed. He didn't know where else to take him. If he went to the infirmary he risked the potential of running into one of the guests. He didn't want to quicken the inevitable reunions were he'd have to listen to people cry about how much they had missed him. He only wanted to visit the party for no more than five minutes and during those five minutes he'd make his announcement of his support for Sasuke as king and then go. That was what he wished but he knew his father would try to get him to stay longer.

"Who are you?" Itachi wondered aloud. He was certain he had never seen this submissive before. He was very short, almost like a child; he looked innocent which was why Itachi felt compelled to help him. Itachi watched the anonymous submissive slumber for a while until finally his eyes fluttered.

Wide light brown eyes darted around the room. "Where am I?"

"You're in my sleeping chambers. I found you thrown on the floor unresponsive. I'm Itachi. What's your name?"

"My name is Haku. I am Neji Hyūgas bride but I am loyal to the Uchiha clan." Haku stretched then bowed his head, "thank you for saving me Itachi-san. If you are anything like your brother then I am honored you helped me."

"What happened to you?" Itachi got a weird vibe from Haku. He looked like a doll but his mannerisms and way of speaking were like a dominants. His pretty exterior was definitely a facade.

"I was attacked by a rat and poisoned."

"A rat? How?"

"There's no time for details." Haku stood, "my pathetic husband is sneaking around this palace as we speak. Sakura is guiding him. He plans to attack Sasuke-sama and his oh-so precious sovereign."

"Neji is in the palace? Are you sure of this?"

"Yes!"

"Where is he?"

"If I knew I would've told you already obviously. We need to find him!"

"No, we first need to protect Naruto." Itachi would not let Naruto get hurt again. He had been hurt him enough. No other dominant would ever hurt him again if Itachi could prevent it.

"That wouldn't be wise. We should find Neji and get rid of him before he can even get to Sasuke-sama or Naruto! Sasuke-sama has a lot to worry about today why add something else to that list? And the precious sovereign is fine. He has his family around him. No one can touch him especially with that blonde submissive cousin of his."

"Deidara." Itachi was solemn as he was reminded of the other submissive he had hurt.

"Oh, you know him?" Haku eyed the alpha. When he spoke Deidara's name he looked like he would cry.

"Its none of your business."

"Sorry I asked then," Haku put up his hands in a 'I surrender' motion, "shall we get going then?"

"You just barely survived a poisoning, you aren't going anywhere. You're going to stay here while I go find Neji."

"I am aware in your clan submissives are weak but I am not from the north. I am strong and I will be going with you." Haku pointed his finger and made an icy mist come out of his fingertip, "you may not know me so here's a little information. They call me Haku of the bloody mist and there's a reason for that. I can make this mist so cold that when I shoot it at someone it tears through their flesh like freezing flames. It makes quite a bloody mess."

Itachi had been right; Haku's pretty exterior really was just a cover up for the sinister beast he hid within. He was a psychopath. It'd be dangerous to leave him alone.

"Fine, you can come but only because four eyes looking will be far better than two."

"I always wondered what kind of dominant you were, Itachi-san. How could I not when you are the famous older brother of the man I love? I'm disappointed that you're not as strong as him, perhaps you once were but someone's already broken you. You're a weak dominant."

Itachi didn't respond. Haku's insult once long ago would've angered him but he was far too numb to care what others thought of him. The submissive was right though- Naruto already had broken him far beyond repair.

Naruto held Sasuke's hand as they made their grand entrance into the party. This was a party to honor Itachi's return but the king and his sovereign were still expected to make a spectacular entrance.

"Ladies and gentleman please stand at attention," An announcer called out loudly to the large gathered group of wealthy party guests, "may I present to you King Sasuke Uchiha and his sovereign Naruto Uchiha."

The crowd applauded as Naruto and Sasuke descended the marbled steps of the ballroom.

"The ballroom looks nice." Naruto whispered to Sasuke. They rarely used the spacious room; now that it was all lit and decorated it resembled a beautiful star filled sky. "So pretty." Naruto rambled nervously. Every single pair of eyes in the room seemed to be only on him. This was what he had wanted, for everyone to see him and his stomach, or so he had thought. He was nervous, he felt like a trapped butterfly being observed underneath a glass.

"It does." Sasuke squeezed Naruto's hand, "but not as beautiful as you. Don't be nervous. I'm right here beside you."

Sasuke was right. Naruto took a deep breath. He adopted a pleasant smile and looked upon the crowd. He recognized only a few of the faces staring back at him. His mother and father along with his grandmother had taken their seats at the large table at the back of the ballroom. They sat beside Mikoto and Fugaku. Deidara who had entered the party earlier with Kushina sat in between her and their grandmother. There were three empty seats at the table. One was for him and Sasuke and the last one in the middle was for the guest of honor Itachi. Where was Itachi-san? He should've been here already. It made Naruto anxious that Itachi wasn't present. Sasuke and him hadn't had a chance to speak with Itachi yet. Time just kept being eaten away. They should've made it their top priority but instead Naruto had busied himself with playing dress up. In truth if he were being honest though he had been stalling.

The guests formed a semi-circle around the Uchiha king and the sovereign. For some of them it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to see royalty so close up.

"Please don't swarm. My sovereign needs space." Sasuke instructed sternly. He formed a barrier with his arm so that no one could directly touch Naruto.

Naruto was thankful. He didn't want anyone too close. He felt vulnerable with his stomach so exposed. He put his hand over it protectively just as a precaution.

"Sorry, thank you for coming though. I'm so very happy to see you all." Naruto greeted.

Naruto could hear people murmuring about various things.

They talked about how Sasuke had grown taller. Naruto noticed it too, as the months passed by his alpha towered over him a more and more each day.

They talked about the foreign mother and father of the Uchiha sovereign. They were captivated as ever by Kushina's fiery red hair and her blonde headed dominant husband.

They talked about Naruto's gown. Some people loved it and others found it scandalous and inappropriate.

But the most fervent topic people were talking about was Itachi's absence. They were curious why the person the party was being thrown for was nowhere to be seen. They were anxiously waiting to finally see the man who once was supposed to be their king after months of him being in a coma. They wanted to know how he was and if he looked the same as he had. There were rumors that he had lost his mind.

Naruto shut them out but some of their comments still managed to slip into his ears.

"You look so pretty, Naruto-san!" Ten-ten chirped. Her eyes sparkled as she ogled Naruto's peculiar shiny outfit. "I've never seen a dress like that, right Shikamaru-kun?" Ten-ten nudged the lazy eyed boy standing tiredly next to her.

"Yes, very pretty." Shikamaru agreed though he didn't look to have any real interest in the subject at hand at all. He didn't even look like he was in the mood to converse. He looked like he had been dragged to the party. It was typical Shikamaru.

Naruto laughed, "thank you for your compliments."

"Pregnancy suits you." Ino chimed in. Her pregnant small belly was showcased in an icy blue kimono that matched her eyes. A multitude of differing shades of brown flowers adorned her hair, a small token of her dominants hair color. The gesture was sweet but it was also strange. When Naruto had first met Ino all he could remember was her distaste for Kiba's hair color and now she proudly sported the color in her own hair.

"As it suits you as well." Naruto complimented. He was happy for her. She looked at ease; no more bitterness tainted her soul. He had never thought Ino would find happiness.

"You are a more progressive dominant than I am," Kiba averted his eyes from Naruto's round stomach and looked to Sasuke, "I would never be able to remain calm if Ino was out showing off her belly in such an outfit."

"I on the other hand would not have any issue with Ten-Ten wearing something like that once she falls pregnant." Shino wrapped his arm around the short brunette submissive. They had been betrothed for a few short weeks but they were already in love. Shino had finally found a bride and though she did not resemble Naruto as he had hoped his bride would he loved her all the same.

"It's a Whirlpool dress right? I've seen them before in books. You wear it so well." Gaara was alone. His sister and brother had not been allowed to come. As was usually the case the sand siblings were never together. Gaara looked dapper in his deep maroon Suna garb. His ankles and wrist were adorned with bangles and his eyes were outlined in kohl. His hair hung in his eyes and his skin was tanner than usual thanks to the bouts of heat caused by the warmer weather. "I'm amazed by my cousins leniency in allowing you to wear it but then again you do have him wrapped around your finger, you could probably make him agree to anything you desire." Gaara adopted a playful expression; "I commend you for giving all us dominants permission to look upon Naruto-kun's naked flesh, cousin."

"Say another word and I'll have you escorted out of Uchiha clan territory." Sasuke gritted out.

"Easy cousin I was only joking." Gaara chuckled, his dimpled cheeks showcased as he did so which made him look even younger than he was, "I tried to joke with Itachi earlier too and he nearly bit my head off. I know I'm not the funniest dominant but you Uchiha brother's sense of humor is non-existent."

"You saw Itachi-san?!" Naruto quaked. "When?"

"When I arrived. I was walking down the hall and I ran into him. He was with that annoying submissive from blood mist. I was pretty shocked to see Neji's bride here but Itachi told me it was none of my business."

"What was he doing with Haku?" Sasuke growled, "I told him to stay in his assigned room."

Gaara shrugged, "no idea but they were in a rush and Itachi was not in a good mood."

The knowledge that Haku and Itachi were together worried Naruto. Was itachi planning something with Haku?

"So that's why Itachi-san hasn't made an appearance yet." Ten-ten voiced. "How strange, what is he doing with Haku? I didn't even know they knew each other."

"He's defected from the Hyūga clan. He brought us some intel so I allowed him safe refuge here." Sasuke explained.

"That might not be wise cousin. They don't call him Haku of the bloody mist for nothing. I hear he's one particularly savage submissive."

"Trust me I'm well aware but I wasn't going to have him killed when he went out of his way to bring us information on our enemy."

"What are you doing still conversing? Your entrance should take no more than a few minutes, you need to have the first dance with Naruto-kun still!" Mikoto scolded, it was the first direct comment she had spoken to her son in awhile. She looked conflicted but then it disappeared, "your father wants me to ask you...have you seen your brother?"

"No." Sasuke answered resolutely. None of the royals around him spoke the truth. They didn't know why Sasuke had lied but they were loyal to him.

"I see." Mikoto didn't look convinced, "come then, the dance must start."

Mikoto awkwardly walked back to her seat. The light in the room was darkened and casted upon the royal couple.

"Shall we?" Sasuke held is hand out with his palm up. Naruto slipped his hand into Sasuke's and entwined their fingers.

"Yes we shall." Naruto's worry went to the back of his mind. Whatever Itachi was plotting with Haku was unimportant in this moment. Sasuke guided him to the center of the ballroom. The guests parted, making way for the Uchiha couple. A slow song began to play. The musicians stationed on the platforms stage created a beautifully serene melody with a combination of shamisens, flutes, and drums. Naruto hummed along to the tune. Even though it was his first time hearing it he somehow knew the song.

Sasuke settled his hand on the small of Naruto's back and pulled him close. Naruto's stomach bumped against Sasuke. He smiled; it felt like they were dancing with their son.

"Don't worry about following steps. I'll lead you."

"Thank you." Naruto laced his hand behind Sasuke's neck. It was hard to keep his balance and his feet already ached but with Sasuke leading him it was bearable.

The crowd watched in awe as the two figures swayed steadily to the music. There was an untouchable aura around Sasuke and Naruto. They were witnessing pure love.

The sight made Kushina happy. Sasuke wasn't perfect and she was still angry over how Naruto had suffered due to Sasuke not protecting him strongly enough but she was glad that her baby had found an alpha who loved him. Minato shared a reluctant smile with his wife. He couldn't say he was happy but he was content that his little princess had found an alpha that loved him as much as he did. The sentimentality being felt by the Uzumaki's was the total opposite of how the old Uchiha king was feeling. Naruto was practically naked and his foolish son had allowed him to wear such a thing. Fugaku stared at Naruto's stomach. Soon he'd get what he wanted and all the embarrassment the Whirlpool submissive had brought upon his clan would be over.

"I love you, Sasuke." Naruto settled his head on Sasuke's chest. He wanted this moment to last forever.

"As I love you." Sasuke held Naruto close. The love Naruto held for him made him feel whole. There was nothing else in the world that could make him feel the same way. To have someone love him with their entire being the way Naruto did was something Sasuke never thought he'd have. He was grateful that somehow Kaguya had allowed them to find each other.

A pair of brown eyes watched the two figures dance from the shadows.

It was time.

Naruto bit his lip as he watched his alpha dance with some girl. Sasuke was the king and as the king he had to do his kingly duties, which included fraternizing with his subjects. But that still didn't mean that it didn't bother Naruto. Sasuke had already been asked to dance by an array of blushing girls, as if they had been entranced they had come one after another. In order to maintain his image of sovereign Naruto had allowed it but he couldn't hold back the occasional growl whenever he saw one of the girls getting too close. He had been keeping cool but this one girl Sasuke was currently dancing with was testing his limits. She kept touching Sasuke's chest and nosing along his neck.

"If it bothers you then look away." Deidara whispered.

"I can't." The only way Naruto could handle Sasuke not being by his side was by keeping an eye on Sasuke. It calmed the feeling of separation.

Naruto sighed and looked back upon the dance floor to where he knew Sasuke to be. His eyes widened when he didn't see him. He frantically scanned the entire length of the dance floor. Sasuke and the overly touchy girl were both missing.

"Where is Sasuke?!"

"He's probably with his father. I don't see the insufferable patriarch anywhere either." Kushina simpered as she sipped on her wine. "I don't see Mikoto either though now that I mention it."

"They're over there by that general conversing." Minato pointed out. "I'm sure Sasuke is somewhere around too. Don't panic."

"How can I not? He's with that girl!" Naruto rose to stand. "I'm going to go look for him."

"Your alpha loves you even if he is with that girl he wouldn't betray you. You danced a lot tonight and you were so tired this morning, sit and rest. Eat the rest of your food, you've barely touched it."

Naruto adamantly refused to listen. He stalked away from the table and disappeared into the large crowd.

Kushina called after him but Naruto didn't even turn to look back.

"Go after him and talk some sense into him, Deidara." Kushina sighed, "bring him back, he shouldn't be waddling around the party all alone."

"Yes, auntie." Deidara rushed after his cousin. He scanned the faces around him. Naruto had left the ballroom already. Deidara cursed. He needed to find Naruto ASAP. That ominous feeling from earlier hadn't gone away, it had gotten worse. He needed to find him before something bad happened.

Naruto ran to his and Sasuke's room. He had checked all of the rooms downstairs already. Sasuke couldn't have gone all the way to the council could he? No, surely he would've told him. And Sasuke didn't have any reason to go to the council. Naruto wasn't thinking clearly. Where had the girl taken him too!?

Naruto threw open the room door. He quickly darted his eyes around. The room appeared empty but then he caught a flash of white. It was so dim that he almost missed it.

"Hello, beautiful." Neji purred as he emerged from the shadows. Two masked men flanked him. Beside Neji was Sakura smiling as if she had just won a prize.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto glared as Neji and his band moved to surround him. His heart was hammering. He wanted to panic but he refused to. He knew what Neji had come to do and he wouldn't let it happen.

"I came for you and I must say I chose a perfect day to pay you a visit. You look ravishing, I always love to see that swirl tattoo." Neji smiled menacingly, the burnt half of Neji's face was completely paralyzed so his smile ended up looking like a lopsided smirk, "it reminds me of the similar swirl pattern painted onto my sisters forehead with her own blood."

"Cheaters get what they deserve. You should know that better than anyone else, Neji."

"Shut the fuck up!" Neji barked. "I'm going to enjoy carving that baby out of you. Restrain him!" Neji snapped his fingers and the two masked men took a hold of Naruto's arms.

"Let go of me!" Naruto tried to twist out of the two men's hold but their grip was vice tight. He couldn't keep the panic out of his voice now. "If you dare come near my stomach I'll kill you where you stand! Do you hear me? I'll kill you!"

Neji chuckled, "that glowing trick you pulled last time is probably impossible for you to do now. You can barely walk, your threats are empty."

Naruto was hyperventilating. Neji was right. He didn't think he had the strength to conjure up any energy. He didn't even know how he had done it last time! And he was significantly weaker now than he was back then. He had done it with Itachi too but even then he didn't know how.

Neji advanced. "You stopped me the last time before I could have you. That won't happen today." Neji stuck his hand up Naruto's top and pinched Naruto's nipple. Naruto squeaked, "excellent, I was so disappointed the last time since you hadn't produced milk yet," Neji brought his fingers to his mouth and sucked off the white droplets that had spilled onto his fingers from the pinching, "so sweet."

Naruto lunged his body to try and smack Neji but the two men were still holding him. He spat at Neji's face to show the alpha what he wanted to do with his fists.

"I'm married to a submissive who loathes me do you think spitting on me is an insult?" Neji licked the spit off his fingers in the same manner he had licked off the milk, "it's just as sweet as your milk. It makes me salivate just tasting it. I'll fuck you before I kill you. It's only fitting since you owe me from last time."

"You're disgusting," Naruto spat again, "I hope Kaguya burns you in eternal flames!"

"What did you say you bitch! This isn't the damn west so speak the language of the north!" Neji cursed. He picked Naruto's legs up and pushed himself between them so that Naruto had no choice but to wrap them around Neji's waist. Neji aggressively lifted Naruto's skirt and shoved it up around Naruto's thighs and then pulled down his underwear, "I'll fuck you till you bleed, maybe I'll draw a nice swirl on your forehead with the blood to match my sisters!"

"There's no time for that, kill him before someone comes!" Sakura screamed madly, "Kill him! Hurry up and do it!"

"Shut your mouth!" Neji stared daggers at Sakura. "I am going to fuck him and no one will stop me!"

"That wasn't part of the plan there's no time just kill him!" Sakura was agitated; she kept glancing at the door. She had a kunai gripped tightly in her hand; she would throw it immediately if the door so much as creaked.

"Fuck the plan! I'm going to enjoy devouring what I was denied." Neji untied his pants and drew his dick out. "You see how excited you made me? I've been thinking about you ever since that day. This sweet little hole of yours-I want to stretch it until it bleeds."

"Try it and it'll be the last thing you ever do!"

Neji slapped Naruto, the harsh sound of skin against skin echoed through the room. "I told you not to speak that language! You think you're so much better than everyone just because you're foreign don't you? Well you're nothing but a foreign bitch, I got myself one too and he thinks he's better than me too. I'll teach the both of you! You are both slaves to that Uchiha's dick but I'll fuck you so good you wont be able to come unless its my dick that's in you!"

The sound of Sakura's kunai swishing through the air and the door bolting open happened simultaneously.

Itachi stood forebodingly in the doorway. He easily caught the kunai and threw it right back. It sliced through the air and landed right in the center of Sakura's chest. She coughed up a glob of blood and staggered back onto her knees.

"So you were telling the truth, Sakura and Neji were conspiring together." Itachi voiced to Haku who was standing beside him. There was something off about his expression. Like he wasn't all there.

"Of course I was telling the truth." Haku stared Sakura down. She had been hit but it wasn't critical. Sakura stood back up with the kunai still embedded in her chest. "I'm back and this time I'm going to kill you, rat." Haku taunted. He iced his hand but Itachi settled his hand on his shoulder, "Save it. Go find my brother and tell him the situation. I'm going to need backup."

"Where is he? I don't know this palace well!"

"Don't worry about that I'm sure you'll run into him. He's most likely already on his way. He can probably already sense Naruto's panicked state. Now go!"

Haku nodded and took off.

"That was a useless decision. You should've just let my traitorous submissive stay. You'll be long dead before your baby brother can come and save you." Neji sneered. He dropped Naruto like he was a sack of unimportant rice.

Naruto groaned as his legs thumped onto the ground. The men holding his harms didn't soften the fall at all, they let him succumb under the full push of gravity. At least he wasn't exposed anymore.

"Is that you Neji?" Itachi squinted, "I barely recognized you. I presume my brother did that to your face?"

Neji lunged; his fist glowed with two tigers. Itachi evaded the lion fists easily.

"You should've died that day!" Neji released a pent up scream, "all you Uchiha's should just die!"

"Not all of us." Itachi activated his sharingan.

The two men flanking Neji had let Naruto go and ignited their own hands in jutsu. They ran to help out their master.

Itachi glided to the side and expertly put himself in front of Naruto. He put his arms up defensively so that no one could attack the blonde submissive. "You're too slow." He taunted.

"You can't win, Itachi-san!" Naruto cried.

"Don't worry about me." Itachi yelled. The three men ran head first towards Itachi. "Just find a way to escape!" Itachi's sharingan shifted into mangekyo. At the same time he ignited his hand into a flame. The melody of the music being played downstairs was so loud that it could be heard softly in the room. It was the same melody Naruto had been humming along to earlier when he danced with Sasuke.

It hit Naruto right then…this was his dream.

This image of Itachi looking so lonely while standing before him with his hand ablaze and his hair hanging haphazardly down his back...was the same image from his dream. It all came back to him. Like a kimono being stitched together all the pieces became one in his mind. This was the dream he couldn't remember expect Itachi hadn't betrayed him as he had in the dream. Itachi was helping him.

Naruto nodded numbly, "Please be careful. I'll pray for your victory."

"Don't." Itachi planned to die here. Naruto could tell that the alphas loneliness had already defeated him. A tear slipped down Naruto's cheek. He had thought this whole time that Itachi was plotting his next move but in reality Itachi had been suffering all alone. He had never deserved Itachi or his love.

"I love you, Itachi-san." Naruto whispered just as the three alphas descended upon Itachi. Naruto turned his head just before they hit. He couldn't see them strike Itachi. He wouldn't waste the opportunity Itachi had gifted him. He hurriedly escaped the circle and ran out the door.

As Naruto booked it down the hall he was struck from the side.

"Where do you think you're going? Don't forget about me," Sakura had pulled the kunai out of her chest and thrown it at Naruto. She had fumbled the kunai, which dimmed its impact. The kunai had struck Naruto but not pierced his skin.

"Get out of my way, Sakura." Naruto seethed.

"Not until I get my revenge! I want you dead for what you've done to me! You stole my husband, my son, and my title! You practically stole my entire life!"

"I've stolen nothing from you, why can't you understand that! Sasuke never loved you, Sakura, and he never will!"

Sakura snorted out a laugh, "you know your handmaid told me something similar before I killed her!"

"You killed Konan?" Naruto saw red, he had always had the suspicion it was Sakura but he could never prove it, "how did you do it?"

"With this," Sakura sheathed her hand in green chakra, "and now I'm going to use it to kill you too!"

"So you knew how to control chakra this whole time." Naruto picked up the fallen kunai from the floor. He couldn't wield any jutsus at the moment but he would avenge Konan any way he could. "It's a shame Konan was killed by such a weak omega like you. I'll give her soul proper rest by killing you!"

Naruto aimed the kunai straight for Sakura's head. Sakura ran. Her hand glowed as she charged. Naruto closed one eye and focused on the spot in between Sakura's pink eyebrows. One shot-he just needed this one shot to make it to kill Sakura.

A hand suddenly settled on Naruto's shoulder, "Don't, she isn't worth becoming a murderer for." Naruto peaked at the hand. It was the bloodied hand of Itachi. Itachi raised his hand and sent a single fireball at Sakura. It blew her back and made her slam against the wall. Itachi put his hand back down and slumped against Naruto.

"Are they…did you kill them?

"Yes, all that's left of Neji and his two masked cohorts are a pile of ashes. I didn't intend to kill them but trapping Neji in my mangekyo proved difficult. I couldn't get direct eye contact with his burnt eye."

"It doesn't matter, he deserved to die." Naruto wished he had been in the room just to see Neji's pale flesh turn to ashes.

It grew quiet after Naruto's proclamation. The music wafting up from downstairs was the only noise in the room. It was awkward between the two of them. So much had happened between them and they had yet to speak about it. Naruto had so much to say. He had been so gung ho about finally meeting with Itachi and confessing everything he had bottled up inside. His fears, his anger, his sorrow…but right now it was like his mouth had been stitched shut.

"I'm sorry for what I did to you." Itachi professed in a soft barely audible voice. He could read the situation, Naruto was too anxious to say anything. This was his time to apologize to one of the submissives he had hurt. "I loved you so fiercely that your betrayal broke me. I snapped like I never knew I was capable of. I scared myself with my own feelings so I gave in to the inner beast and let it rage. I'm not trying to make an excuse. You deserve to know everything. I'm sorry-I can't say it enough of how much I am."

Naruto soaked in all that Itachi said; his words were like a stab in the heart. "I'm the one who should be apologizing! When I first met you I thought to myself that I was lucky. You were an alpha any omega would be lucky to have. That first day I met you I kept imagining what my future with you would be like, I thought about our mating ceremony, our first times together, and even about how many children I would give you but then that night Kaguya intervened and changed absolutely everything. Your brother saved me and I was captivated ever since. I've been ridden with guilt ever since Sasuke and I began our relationship behind your back." Naruto held Itachi's hand in his despite the blood splattered on it. "We've both hurt each other and the repercussions of it has to end. I don't want you to be lonely anymore, I want you to find happiness!" Naruto sucked up his tears, "I thought you were going to die today and it made me realize how much I love you. Maybe not in the way you love me but I love you all the same! I want you in my life, I know it's selfish but I want to see you everyday because you are an important part of my family!"

"Naruto I..." Itachi was flabbergasted, "I planned to leave-I-"

Thudding footsteps resonated down the hall. Haku and Deidara ran together. Deidara looked exhausted as if he had been running up and down the palace for a while. Haku looked just as tired.

"I looked everywhere…Sasuke-sama, he-"

"He's missing!" Deidara finished Haku's sentiment.

"He should've been here by now. Naruto's distress should've lured him here already. He's either unresponsive or tied up." Itachi theorized. He winced; he had overdone it with the flames. He was drained of chakra.

Deidara flitted over to Itachi's side. He instinctually guided Itachi to lean on him so that he was the one supporting his weight instead of Naruto. He withheld the urge to growl at Naruto for letting the alpha get so banged up. He was feeling protective of Itachi and he hated it. It was Naruto who needed the protecting. If he had found Naruto in time like he had set out to do Itachi wouldn't have been in such bad condition-this was his fault. He knew that something bad was going to happen all day and he still hadn't made it on time.

"Where is my alpha?" Naruto was breathing hard, "he was with that girl the last time I saw him. If she did anything to him I'll kill her myself!"

"Don't panic. I may know where he is. I didn't think my father would do it but I think he plans to have Sasuke killed. I told him I planned to renounce my claim at the party. To put it lightly he didn't take kindly to the announcement. I wouldn't put it past him to go to such an extreme."

"He's going to have my love assassinated?" Naruto yelled. So that was why Fugaku was chatting with that general. He was instructing one of his loyal men to kill Sasuke.

Naruto pushed past the group and stumbled further down the hall. He closed his eyes and zeroed in his senses. The bond he had with his alpha was strong. He could still feel Sasuke's presence, which meant Sasuke was still alive!

"What are you doing?" Haku intoned. He looked at Naruto like one would a ranting old woman on the street. Naruto was behaving like a crazy person.

"He's tracking Sasuke through their bond." Deidara explained. "Its one of the things only bonded mates can do."

"He's downstairs!" Naruto exclaimed. He set off the second he pinpointed Sasuke's whereabouts.

"Go with him. I'll join you all soon, I'm going to tie up Sakura. She isn't dead-yet."

"Good idea." Haku grinned, "That rat is hard to kill. If you don't restrain her she'll find a way to scamper away and survive. I'll save us all a headache and go kill her now."

"It isn't up to you to decide if Sakura lives or dies." Itachi declared sternly, "Naruto will decide once everything settles."

Haku pouted.

"Now go!"

Haku and Deidara followed Naruto down the hall and down the stairs. They arrived to a room at the back end of the palace. It was a secluded tearoom that was reserved for the maids.

Naruto tried to slide the door open but it was locked. He banged on it, "open this door!"

Itachi materialized by Naruto's side. He had tied up Sakura and came back as promised. He put his hand on Naruto's shoulder, "step aside. I got this."

Naruto stared at Itachi as if he were now the one who had lost their mind but then complied. He moved aside so that Itachi could do whatever it was he was planning.

Itachi raised his hand.

"You're weak, you shouldn't use your jutsu!" Deidara complained.

"Don't worry for me, Deidara-kun."

Deidara shut his mouth. He wasn't aware he was even worrying. It was instinctual. He didn't want to see Itachi hurt even more than he already was.

A light blue flame glowed in the center of Itachi's palm. It grew bigger and bigger and then Itachi sent it flying right at the door. The door was encased in flames. It burnt down in seconds.

They stepped over the wooden ashes. The room was dark. The light of the hall allowed only a shadowy light to bathe the room.

"He's right there!" Naruto spotted Sasuke first. The alpha was tied to a chair. His feet and wrist were bound with ice. His eyes were glossy which signified he had been drugged. Naruto ran as fast he possibly could to Sasuke. "My alpha do you recognize me? Are you okay?" Naruto held Sasuke's face in his hands as he spoke. Sasuke's eyes cleared slightly, he recognized Naruto. "You're going to be okay." Naruto promised. He hated seeing Sasuke like this. "Come out Fugaku-san!" Naruto was going to kill the man, he had tolerated a lot from his father in law but he would not tolerate this. An attempt on his alphas life would never be forgiven. "Come out. You have nowhere to run, you've been caught!"

"You're right you did catch me." The voice didn't belong to Fugaku. It was light and childish, it was definitely not the voice of an aging alpha.

Naruto whipped his head back to the door where Deidara, Haku, and Itachi were still standing.

"You?" What in hells name was going on? Haku was with them the whole time how was this possible. Naruto turned his gaze back to the direction of the voice. "But how are there two of you?" The version of Haku that had been with them slowly turned to ice and melted into a puddle on the floor.

"My clone." Haku sympathetically sighed as he looked at the puddle, "It's the strongest one I've ever made, even stronger than Zabuza. I'm sad to see it go."

"No wonder your vitals were so off." Itachi glared. "I thought it was because you were injured I should've trusted myself and used the sharingan to assess you!"

"This whole time you were the one keeping Sasuke away from me?" Naruto growled. His eyes almost appeared red.

"Surprised aren't you?" Haku's body iced over and his appearance changed to that of the overly touchy girl that had been dancing with Sasuke, "it was quite fun too. Sasuke had no idea I was transferring poison through skin to skin contact as we danced." Haku changed back to his own form just as quickly. "I was gong to warn Sasuke-sama about Neji but then I thought why should I? I wanted to keep you alive simply for Sasuke's sanity but then I got an idea. After Neji killed you I would drug Sasuke. When the early morning hours came I was going to sneak him out and take him back to mist with me. Before the drugs wore off I'd clone myself to look like you. When he came to full consciousness he'd think I was you! It was a perfect plan it should've worked but I should've known my pathetic weak husband would completely fuck up and not end up killing you."

Naruto charged at Haku. "How dare you even lay your filthy fingers on my mate!" Naruto's stomach glowed white, his split gown allowed for all to see it. "I've never liked you!" Naruto formed a rasengan. It was bigger than the usual ones he wielded. It was almost like a whirlpool in the palm of his hand. "From the very first moment I met you at that dueling arena I hated you!"

"the feeling is mutual." Haku iced his fist, "You aren't worthy to carry Sasuke's child!"

Naruto hurled his rasengan at the beta, it was so big and spinning at such a fast velocity that Haku had no time to use his icy defense. The whirlpool sliced right through Haku's abdomen, cutting him into two pieces. His top half slid off and fell onto the ground. His pretty wide eyes and plump pink lips were opened as wide as possible. In his last moments of life he was terrified. Haku of the bloody mist who was scared of nothing had finally met his match.

There was no time for victory. Naruto rushed to Sasuke. Haku's ice had melted off of his arms and legs. The cold temperature left Sasuke's skin blue. "Can you hear me?, Please answer me! I need to know that you're okay!"

Sasuke blinked. "Naruto?"

"Yes!" Naruto smothered Sasuke's face with kisses, "I'm right here, Haku drugged you. He tried to take me from you but I wouldn't let him."

"You're stomach? Its glowing red." Sasuke was so fogged up from the drugs but he knew he had seen this red bubbly chakra before. If Sasuke had been in a better state of mind he would've remembered that Naruto's seal produced this chakra and that it had healing properties. The red chakra was flowing out from Naruto and onto Sasuke. It made a thin film over Sasuke's skin.

"What are you doing?" Deidara realized what Naruto was up to. He was astonished, "stop, if you do that you know-"

"Don't stop me, if I don't do this he'll die! Haku gave him too much!"

"Do you hear yourself? Haku was insane but he loved Sasuke he would never accidentally kill him! Use the chakra to heal yourself instead of Sasuke, you need it more than he does! Your body is weak from producing that rasengan!"

Naruto growled, "Don't stop me! I know Sasuke better than all of you. He will die if I don't do this!"

"What is he doing?" Itachi activated his sharingan. Naruto was becoming weaker as more of the red chakra went to Sasuke.

"He's using the stored chakra in his seal to heal Sasuke. The chakra is meant to aid with the pain of pregnancy and childbirth. Naruto's been refusing to use it to ease his morning sickness. There's only a limited amount of the chakra that gets infused within the seal. Once it's gone it can't be regenerated again. Its what stops most of us Uzumaki's from having so many children. He wanted to save up as much as he could so he could have as many children as he possibly could. If he uses it all then he'll be in excruciating pain when he delivers!"

"Naruto stop!" With each passing second Sasuke was regaining his ability to see reason. He now knew what Naruto was doing. He could feel Naruto weakening in his arms. "Love its enough stop!"

Deidara couldn't touch Naruto while he was in this protective state. His cousin didn't recognize friend from foe. If Naruto attacked him he would lose even more chakra.

"You need to stop, Sasuke is all better!"

Naruto kept releasing his chakra. He was so weak that he couldn't willingly stop even if he wanted too.

"Please, love, just close your eyes." Sasuke couldn't handle seeing Naruto becoming so weak. It was like seeing a flower wilt in the intense heat of the sun.

As Naruto succumbed into unconsciousness the steady flow of the bubbly chakra shut off. Naruto flopped against Sasuke's chest. His seal no longer glowed red or even white-it was back to its normal coloring.

"We need to get him to the infirmary!" Deidara had just witnessed his cousin release a monumental amount of his stored chakra. He had never seen that much released in one sitting aside from during childbirth.

Sasuke whisked Naruto up into his arms. "Get Orochimaru!"

"Orochimaru? Why? He needs a regular doctor not an obstetrician!" Deidara pointed out.

"No, he needs an obstetrician," Sasuke looked down to the puddle of water on the floor. Naruto's water had broke under the extreme stress his body had just underwent. The intricate lines of his seal were now burning bright red. They glowed like fire. "Its time, the baby is coming."


End file.
